Flack and Oscar
by GeorgeAndrews
Summary: "It is not flesh and blood, but heart which makes us fathers and sons." Becoming a father is easy but being a father is hard, as Flack is about to discover when an acquaintance from the past shows up with the shock of a lifetime for him.
1. Chapter 1

A/N - So I am starting my happy story folks to make up for my super sad one and my creepy one! Obviously there will be some drama and upsets to keep it interesting but it'll be mostly happy :)

Trying my hand at a family fic which is new for me.

Rated T only for bad language.

Thanks to Kates89 for letting me borrow Josh, Blue bear and Bear.

* * *

**Chapter One**

The lights of the nightclub flashed vibrantly around the four men as they sat around a high table, drinks in hand, staring longingly at the attractive females swaying their bodies sensuously on the dancefloor.

"That blonde chick is seriously hot," Danny slurred and grabbed onto the table edge to stop himself from sliding off his stool.

"Hey man, you can't say that, you're married" Hawkes said, face deadly serious.

"Marriage never stopped anyone from looking," Danny retorted. "But my Linds would knock the socks off that bitch!"

"You've stopped making sense," Flack muttered blinking lazily around at his best friend, eyes blurry and unfocused.

"You stopped making sense about three hours ago," Danny sniggered and slipped slightly forwards on his stool.

"I think I'm drunk," squeaked a quiet voice.

"What?" yelled Flack loudly.

"I think I'm drunk," Adam repeated, giggling away to himself.

Flack shook his head and made a face at Hawkes and Danny, still not hearing what Adam had said.

"Hey, where did Mac go?" he suddenly asked, looking round them in confusion.

"Mac left two hours ago with Jo!" Hawkes laughed and slapped Flack on the back.

"Hey, you think thy're doing the dirty?" Danny grinned, once more sliding forwards on his stool.

"I don't even wanna know!" Flack grumbled as Hawkes made a disgusted face and Adam looked in complete and utter shock at the idea.

"Oh wow," Hawkes suddenly stated and leant to the side as he checked out a passing girl. "She is mmmm hmmmm..."

"Hey!" Danny shouted. "You're practically married so don't you be checking out the hot stuff neither...either!"

Hawkes grinned widely at him. "Yeah, you're right. Wouldn't want it any other way."

"Did you guys know it's after four?" Adam interrupted, checking on his phone.

"What?!" Hawkes yelped. "I have work tomorrow night...that's tonight!"

"Hawkes, you gotta stop being so serious," Danny frowned. "You're too work obsessed."

"It's called conscientious," Hawkes muttered. "And I promised Camille I'd be back before she left for work."

"What?" Flack moaned. "You're leaving?"

"Her rotation starts at six," Hawkes informed him as he stood up and then grabbed ahold of Flack's arm to stop himself from swaying. "God, I've drunk far too much."

"You're a terrible drunk!" Danny accused as he slid even further.

"Not as bad as you!" Flack chucked and gave Danny a friendly slap on the back.

The inevitable finally happened as the force of the slap pushed Danny that little bit too far and he finally slid off his stool and landed with a thump on the floor.

"Ouch," he moaned. "I think the world is upside down."

"I think you're upside down," Adam chuckled as he stood up and gingerly helped Danny from the floor. "I think I better take this one home before he gets into anymore trouble."

"You can't all leave me," Flack said offended, pouting like a little boy. "It's my birthday."

"Dude, you're thirty-six, you've already had enough birthdays," Hawkes stated. "And anyway, your birthday was officially yesterday."

Flack frowned as it took him a second to work out Hawkes' words.

"And there's that high school diploma hard at work," Hawkes whispered to the others and they all giggled.

"What?" Flack said gormlessly.

"Come on, buddy," Danny said happily. "It's home time now for us old men."

"Speak for yourself," Flack grouched as he stood and nearly fell over.

"I'll help you," Danny said kindly, attempting to support Flack.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Hawkes stated as he grabbed hold of Flack whilst Adam held onto Danny.

The four men staggered out of the club and paused outside deciding how would be best to get home.

"I'm staying at Michelle's tonight," Adam informed them as he tightened his hold around Danny. "I can take him home, it's on the way."

"I'm coming Lindsay!" Danny yelled happily.

"Oh God," Adam mumbled embarrassedly.

"I'll help this one home before I see Camille," Hawkes agreed.

"I..." Flack stated slowly. "Do not need help." He stumbled a little as he spoke and tripped over his own feet, Hawkes catching him before he fell into the gutter.

"You sure about that, man?" Hawkes laughed.

"Wouldn't wanna make you late for your girl," Flack slurred. "I like girls."

"You want me to take you round to Lovato's?" Hawkes asked.

Flack grinned excitedly. "She's fwoarrrrr."

Hawkes and Adam laughed loudly, waking Danny who had been practically snoozing on Adam's shoulder.

"What!" he said as his head shot up off Adam's shoulder.

"Come on, we're off," Adam said and pulled him towards a cab. "I'll see you guys later. Hope you had a good birthday, Flack."

Hawkes and Flack waved as the two men left them, Danny singing loudly about his kids.

"Rather him than me," Flack snorted as he turned and grinned at Hawkes.

"You like Lucy and Josh, don't you?" Hawkes asked in a bemused way as he looked round for a cab.

"Yeah, but only cos I can give them back," Flack stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Don? Don, is that you?"

Flack turned as he heard someone calling his name and a tall blonde broke away from the crowd and stalked towards him.

"Oh, um...err..."Flack mumbled as he stared dumbly at her.

"It's Devon," she replied, slightly annoyed.

"Oh right, yeah, Devon...rich bitc..." he coughed awkwardly. "It's great to see you, what's it been now?"

"Six years, give or take," she stated, still sounding annoyed.

"Flack, I've got a cab," Hawkes interrupted, coming back over towards them.

"Oh, right. I've got to go," Flack grinned. "Was great seeing you...umm...you... again."

"You too, Don," she replied as she watched him and Hawkes go towards the cab.

"Who was that?" Hawkes asked.

"Ex girlfriend," Flack replied. "Huge knockers."

Hawkes rolled his eyes. "God you've got class," he muttered.

* * *

Flack awoke to the sound of heavy pounding. He groaned loudly and rolled over, covering his head with a pillow and then tried falling back asleep. The thumping continued on, it sounded like someone had set up a disco inside his head. Perhaps they had, and he was still hearing the beats from the music last night. He groaned again and opened his eyes, blinking against the bright light of the day and then rolling back to his original position, facing away from the window. He blinked at his alarm clock which told him cheerily that it was 9am. Flack closed his eyes and pulled the duvet over his face, hiding the horrible truth from himself that he'd only been in bed for roughly three hours. He couldn't remember much of last night at all. They'd all gone out for a drink at a bar; everyone had been there except Jamie, who had had to work, and Lindsay who was still on maternity leave after having given birth to Joshua almost four months ago. Eventually Mac, Jo and Sid had left and then the four of them had continued on into a blurry, disgusting mess of shots, Jagermeister and tequila. After that it was a blank until he'd been knocked conscious by the pounding that was still going on.

"Shut up!" Flack yelled as loudly as he could, wishing almost immediately that he hadn't as a jab of pain shot through his head.

At thirty-six he now realised he had no stamina whatsoever to survive a hangover. He groaned and pulled the duvet off him, trying his hardest to right himself on the edge of his bed.

"God I'm gonna be sick," he muttered to himself, holding a hand to his stomach.

He frowned down at his leg as he sat on the edge of the bed. A slice of pizza was stuck to it, the cheese matted and congealed into his leg hair.

"What the..."

He turned and noticed the pizza box that was now jumbled up with his duvet, one grey sock and a pear. Flack stared and absent mindedly scratched his head. He really couldn't remember where any of that stuff had come from...well, apart from the sock. That had clearly come from his own foot, judging from the fact he was only wearing one.

"I don't like pears," he mumbled as he pulled the slice of pizza from his leg and stood, almost wishing he hadn't. He put his hands out to steady himself and shivered as a wave of nausea hit him.

"Oh God," he muttered and rushed across the hallway to his bathroom, ignoring his head and legs' protestations at the fast paced movement.

He only just made it in time to the toilet and bent over it, relieving himself of what was most likely the rest of that pizza and some luminous green liquid. Then he leant back and sat down on the bathroom floor, feeling absolutely dreadful. It was a good job he'd booked the day off work. He knew he might be in this sort of state after a night out with the lads for his birthday so at least that was something. He could stay wrapped up in his duvet all day, feeling sorry for himself and maybe Jamie would even swing by to cheer him up at some point. Flack shivered again and wished she was there now. It was alright for the others, they all had their serious girlfriends or wives to look after them but he and Jamie were only casual, despite the fact he would love to take it to the next level. He'd wanted to ask her to move in but knew she didn't want to, she'd already hinted at that numerous times. He rubbed his hands over his face realising that, as he was only in his boxers, he might want to put on some more clothes to keep warm. He frowned as the pounding started up again and wondered if there were roadworks going on outside his place, he sincerely hoped there wasn't, that would really ruin his day. He got up and dragged himself back to the bedroom, throwing on an old t-shirt before deciding to get a drink of water as he was probably dehydrated from the alcohol. As he got towards the kitchen he paused and cocked his head. The thumping...it sounded like it was coming from his door. He frowned and walked over to it. Yes, it was definitely coming from his door. He glanced back towards his closet, considering getting his gun before deciding that was a bad idea. There was no way he could possibly shoot straight in his condition anyway...he'd probably just end up shooting himself in the foot or something. He took in a breath and then pulled open the door.

"Well it's about bloody time!"

Flack's mouth dropped open as he gazed stupidly at the woman at his door. She looked vaguely familiar.

"Umm..."

"It's Devon," she shouted angrily at him. "Oscar, go inside."

Flack stepped back in dumb stupidity as she pushed a small boy past him into his apartment.

"Devon, umm..." he muttered as he frowned down at the kid. He was tiny and wearing a small backpack. He had huge blue eyes and thick, curly black hair. He turned back around to face them and stared nervously at Devon, fidgeting with his hands.

"Happy birthday, Don. Say hello to your son. He's your problem now," Devon muttered spitefully and then turned on her heel and stormed away down the corridor.

Flack stared after her and then back at the little boy. "What the..."

He frowned and suddenly it was like someone switched a light on in his head.

"Devon, wait up," he shouted as he tried to catch her up. He ran down the corridor, forgetting he was only in his boxers.

"Devon!" he yelled, but she had already disappeared down the stairs and, before deciding to chase after her, he paused and looked back toward his apartment.

"Fuck!" he muttered and then decided to go back, he didn't want to leave some strange kid alone in his home.

He reached the door and stepped inside, shutting it behind him. In front of him stood the tiny little boy; wide blue eyes scared as he looked back at Flack.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N – Yay, so to celebrate the hottest day of the year so far and the fabulous Andy Murray (Big Woop!) I'm posting another chapter of a story that has nothing to do with either of those things. :P Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Flack stared awkwardly down at the little boy, all of a sudden feeling extremely sober. His cop instinct quickly assessed the child in front of him. He was a very small kid, short and thin and could really have been anywhere between the ages of four and six. He had a thick mop of black curly hair but it was his facial features that struck a chord with Flack, they were so alike his own. Big blue eyes, a slightly large- if wonky nose and thin pink lips. His skin was pale and he really looked like he could have done with a good meal or ten dozen. He was fiddling with his hands and his eyes darted nervously about the place, trying to take in as much of his surroundings while at the same time never lose sight of the man standing in front of him. Flack.

Flack coughed uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "Um..." he coughed again. God, his head hurt like hell. "So, err you're called Oscar?"

The little boy nodded his head and his curly hair shook as he did so.

"I'm Flack," Flack said frowning as he heard himself speak. He probably should have called himself Don...too late now, he didn't wanna confuse the poor kid even more.

"So...err...right...well she's gone...um, Devon..." Flack stopped talking as he saw the little boy looked on the verge of tears. "She'll be back soon," he smiled unconvincingly.

He scratched his head and glanced around, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do with this kid. It couldn't be his own, despite the similarities, it just couldn't.

"So, ahem, why don't we sit down?" Flack said eventually, gesturing to his couch.

Oscar looked in the direction he pointed and then back at Flack as though looking for confirmation. Flack nodded his head, immediately wishing he hadn't due to his headache, and the boy went over and sat down. Flack followed him over and sat in a chair opposite him. The two continued to stare at each other in awkward silence. Flack really wasn't sure what the etiquette was in this sort of situation. It didn't help that he was feeling like crap and all he wanted to do was curl up under his duvet and sleep. Instead he now had to deal with a kid that wasn't his, an annoying ex and find out how to put the two back together.

"So, um, how old are you?" he asked Oscar.

"Five," Oscar replied so quietly Flack barely heard it.

Flack did the maths in his head, working out that five would indeed be the age of a child if he had fathered one with Devon. The kid had her face shape, a round one, and he must have inherited the curls from her too but apart from that... Flack coughed and decided not to think about that.

"And when's your birthday?" he asked.

"September the eighth," Oscar said shyly.

"Right," Flack nodded. That would make it September 8th 2008. Almost nine months after he broke up with Devon. He suddenly found it very difficult to breathe.

"Do you know who I am?" Flack decided to ask, wondering if Devon had told Oscar about him.

"Flack," the little boy replied timidly.

Flack stared stupidly at Oscar. Of course he was right, he'd literally just told the kid that. He wished his mind would kick into gear.

"You hungry?" Flack asked, getting up, deciding that he'd feel better after some food.

Oscar shook his head.

"Thirsty?"

Oscar thought about it for a moment and then nodded.

"Okay then," Flack said feeling exhausted. "What do you want, I think I got some apple juice..." he suggested walking to the kitchen section of his living area.

"Mummy only allows me orange juice," Oscar stated from the couch.

Flack turned to see the little boy peeping over the back of the couch at him.

"Right, well I might have..." Flack opened his fridge. It was full of beer. "Okay, the store it is," he nodded to himself.

He looked back at Oscar who quickly turned around and sat properly on the couch, as though he'd been caught doing something very naughty. Flack took a deep breath. This was not how he'd been expecting today to go at all.

"Listen, you just wait here, okay while I get dressed and then we can go get some juice okay?"

Oscar nodded at him and then Flack turned and fled to his bedroom. He leant back against the door and held his head in his hands. It was pounding and he still felt nauseous from the hangover or something else, he wasn't quite sure. Slowly he pulled his hands away and his eyes caught his refection in the mirror. He gulped. That kid looked an awful lot like him. He tore his eyes away from the mirror and grabbed a pair of shorts off the floor, pulling them on and removing the one sock he was still wearing. Suddenly a noise from the lounge distracted him and he frowned, looking up before deciding to go and check it out.

"Oscar?" he called as he came down the hallway. "Osc...Oh shit!"

The front door was wide open.

"Fuck," Flack cried as he grabbed his keys from the bowl next to the door and rushed out forgetting to even put on his shoes.

He slammed the door behind him and ran along the corridor to the stairs and started to descend them. He couldn't hear the sound of anyone in front of him, not even a small kid. He sprinted down them as fast as his pounding head, nauseous stomach and wobbly legs would allow and out into the bright sunlight of the street. The light stung his eyes and he had to blink them a few times. Passersby bumped into him from both sides as they went on their way, hurrying to and fro between places they needed to be.

"Oscar?" Flack yelled, looking both ways down the street, searching for any sign of the small boy.

"Oscar?" Flack shouted again, attempting to use his height for a better view.

He noticed an old man leaning against the building one up from his having a cigarette. Flack went towards him.

"Excuse me, have you seen a kid? Dark curly hair?" Flack asked.

"Went that way," The man said gruffly, pointing to his left.

"Thanks," Flack nodded and started to run in the same direction. He briefly smirked as he recalled his friend who went running round the city in bare feet. He'd sworn he'd never try it himself...so much for that.

"Oscar?" he called again, looking around all the time when suddenly he saw the dark head of the little boy trudging up the sidewalk.

Flack breathed a sigh of relief and ran to catch up with him. "Oscar, where you going?" he shouted as he caught hold of him.

"Let go of me!" Oscar cried as Flack held tightly on to his arm.

"I can't, not until I get your Mum back to collect you," Flack said irritably. "Now come on."

"Let go of me!" shouted Oscar loudly, causing some of the people nearby to look round.

"Look, just calm down," Flack said, starting to feel panicked. "I gotta look after you for a bit so let's just go back to my place, yeah?"

"No...you're not my Daddy!" Oscar yelled tears falling down his face.

Flack started to notice that most people around them had stopped and were staring at them. He looked round and smiled nervously at them.

"I am," he told them embarrassedly. "Just a little argument," he stammered.

He looked back down at Oscar who had started crying and was shaking with the effort of it.

"Hey, buddy, it's okay," Flack tried to soothe.

"I want my Mummy! You're not my Daddy!" Oscar sobbed.

"What's going on here then?"

Flack looked up to see two cops approaching from a squadcar that had pulled up to the curb.

"Look, it's nothing," Flack stated, attempting a smile. "My son...he..um...we just had a small quarrel but we're okay now..."

The cops' eyes narrowed in suspicion as they looked from the small boy bawling his eyes out in the street to the messy, shoeless man who stunk of booze.

"If you could just step away from the child, Sir," a rather muscular cop stated as he stepped forward.

"What?" Flack frowned. "But no, he's my kid...I just..."

"Step away from the child!" the other cop interjected, also stepping forward. Both of them had their hands on their belts, on what Flack knew would be their weapons.

"Look guys," Flack laughed nervously. "I'm a cop, like you..."

"Well then, if you just show us your ID, we'll be on our way," said the muscular cop.

"I um..." Flack stammered, suddenly realising he hadn't got any form of ID on him at all. "I must have left it at home..."

"I see, Sir," the second cop nodded. "So if you just let go of the boy."

Flack looked round helplessly at the crowd of people who were now staring at him, hoping to see someone he knew. There was no-one.

"Look, I'm Detective Flack, badge 8571, just go and check it out," Flack stated, trying to will his mind to think straight despite his thumping headache.

"I want my Mummy," Oscar cried at that moment. "I don't know him."

Flack's eyes widened in dismay as he heard Oscar cry and then he looked up to see the two cops coming fast towards him. He immediately released his hold on the boy.

"Look, guys...I'm not lying...and that's my son...well...as far as I know."

"Hands in the air," the first cop shouted.

"But I..." Flack yelped as he backed away from them.

"Get your hands in the air now!" the cop repeated, shouting angrily while his partner knelt down by Oscar.

"Look..." Flack tried again.

The cop's patience ran out. Flack suddenly found himself being grabbed and flung face first into the wall of building they were in front of. His arms were roughly pulled beind his back and he felt the cuffs being snapped around his wrists.

"No, look, I'm a cop," Flack cried desperately.

"Yeah yeah, and I'm Mickey Mouse," the cop replied sarcastically. He pulled Flack off the wall and marched him over to the squadcar.

"Darren, I'm staying with the kid until Jerry and Samuels turn up. They can take us back to the precinct," the second cop shouted.

"Fine, I'll take this one in," Darren shouted back as he pushed Flack into the back seat and slammed the door shut. "Nutter can think he can steal little children off the street. Disgusts me."

"Too right," his partner nodded back as the crowd began to disperse.

Flack stared helplessly out of the window at Oscar as Darren got in and pulled away from the curb. So now he knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of the law.

* * *

Flack sat stiffly in the corner of the cell he'd been placed in over two hours ago. Two other men were in the lock up with him, a huge black guy with five piercings in his left ear and one through the middle of his nose. Every so often he would flex his muscles and stare in Flack's direction as though wishing to hit him. The other guy was a tall white guy, far taller than Flack but still muscular. He also chose to stare at Flack but in more of a fixed gaze and every time Flack locked eyes with him he'd wink at him. Flack felt very uncomfortable. He had no idea how all this had happened, everything had gone so fast. He'd woken up with a pounding headache which still hadn't abated, been sick, had a kid dumped on him that he'd supposedly fathered, been accused of kidnapping, arrested in front of loads of people and finally been accused of being a paedophile. Now he was sat in a cell, in an unknown precinct, with two most unsavoury characters, hoping for some sort of rescue sooner rather than later. He thought back to Oscar and whether or not he was his son. He'd explained the whole story to the detectives who had interviewed him, about Devon and the kid running from his apartment. He hadn't been sure whether they had believed him or not but could only hope they were checking out his badge number and calling Mac or Jo. Suddenly the tall white guy stood up and sat down next to him, a little too close for comfort, and Flack wished he'd had the time to put on more clothes before leaving his apartment.

"What you in for?" he asked Flack, staring right at him.

"Oh, um, I'm innocent," Flack stammered, brain still not fully functioning.

Both the other men laughed. "Yeah, yeah, course you are," the white guy replied. "You been inside before?"

"No," Flack replied, shifting slightly away from the guy as he leant into him to speak.

"If you end up where I am, I'll take care of you if you like," the guy whispered into his ear.

"Oh that's very kind but I'm sure..." Flack started.

"You're pretty," the guy grinned.

Flack was saved from answering by the sound of the door to the lock-up's corridor opening and then footsteps coming down the passageway. Flack's heart started speeding up and he watched with bated breath to see who would appear, praying it would be someone for him. He was so distracted that he didn't even feel the white guy sliding back up next to him again.

"That's him," a voice confirmed and Flack blew a sigh of relief.

Mac.

"You sure?" the detective who'd interviewed him scowled.

"Yes, that's Don Flack. Detective," Mac stated patiently, though Flack could tell he was annoyed.

"Fine, let him out," the detective nodded to the officer with the keys.

Flack stood up and started to approach the door.

"Shame," he heard the white guy mumble and then he felt a slap to his ass as he walked past. He quickly hurried on out of there.

"Mac!" Flack said in relief, almost wanting to hug the man.

"Follow me," Mac said severely and pushed past the detective beckoning Flack to follow him.

Flack did so and padded after Mac, still barefoot, as the older man led him to an interrogation room, opened the door and pushed Flack in first before following him in and shutting the door behind them.

"Mac, thank you so much..." Flack started to say.

"Shut up," Mac said and Flack immediately stopped talking. Mac was pissed.

"What the hell happened?" Mac asked.

"I don't know," Flack shrugged as he pulled out a chair and sat down. "My ex just turned up on my doorstep with this kid in tow and said he was my son. He can't be, I would have known."

"Well he is," Mac stated as he sat down opposite Flack. "Adam did a DNA test. It was positive. Oscar Maxford is your son."

Flack's mouth dropped open as he stared at Mac. "What?" he whispered.

"You're a father, Don."

"But...I can't be..."Flack choked. "It's not possible..."

"I'm afraid it is," Mac confirmed. "I had Jo talk to him and calm him down. He was in a real state when those cops brought him in. She certainly has a way with children."

"Is he...is he okay?" Flack asked timidly.

"He's fine. But he's scared and he wants his mother."

"Well call Devon then, she can take him back and..."

"I already had Danny and Sheldon do that. They went round to her registered address. She isn't there and it looked like a lot of her belongings had been packed up and removed. They got her contact details from the landlord but none of them are in service anymore. It seems she's done a disappearing act and a good one at that," Mac replied.

"But her cards..." Flack frowned. "We must be able to trace them..."

"Flack, she's a very wealthy lady. She probably has accounts all round the world that we don't know of. Right at this moment we have no way of finding where she's gone," Mac sighed, staring at Flack in concern.

Flack looked numbed by the information he'd just been given. He'd just become a father overnight and there was no sign of the mother ever returning. In a few hours his life had been completely turned upside down and from this point on, nothing would ever be the same again for him.

"Does everyone know then?" he choked, looking up at Mac who discerned a scared look in his eyes.

"I'm afraid so. I needed them on this case for you, Don, I had no choice but to call them into work," Mac replied.

"And Oscar..." Flack stumbled.

"What he needs now is a reliable adult to take care of him. He's very scared, Don," Mac said wisely.

Flack nodded.

"Do you think you can do that?" Mac asked, worried for his friend who looked like he'd just had the weight of the world dumped on his shoulders.

"I'll have to, won't I?" Flack murmured as he looked up at Mac. "Where is he?"

"With Jo, out in the bullpen," Mac replied.

Flack nodded again but didn't move.

"Do you need a minute?" Mac asked kindly.

"No," Flack whispered. "No. I think I want to see my son."

Mac furrowed his brow but got up and opened the door, leading Flack to the entrance of the bullpen. Through the desks and other officers Flack could see the little boy sat in a chair talking with Jo. All of a sudden he looked up and they locked eyes. Flack immediately felt his heart beat a little faster, air becoming more difficult to breathe. He was looking at his son. His real, alive, five year old son. And he hadn't a clue what to do.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N - Thank you so much to people who have been reviewing, it means so much to me. Here is a new chapter, let me know what you think.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Flack was sat in the back of the Avalanche as Mac drove him and Oscar back to his apartment. The little boy was sat next to him staring out of the widow, backpack clutched in his hands. His eyes were red from crying and he looked tired. Flack had a strange urge to hug him but knew that would most likely scare the boy. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He had fathered a kid...this kid...and yet he didn't know anything about being a father or what they did. Oscar was obviously frightened of him and he had no idea how he was supposed to stop that.

"Hey Mac?" Flack suddenly said as a thought occurred to him. "Can you drop us off at the store near my place? I need to get some food in."

"Sure," Mac nodded. "What about your feet?"

"They gave me some flipflops at the precinct from lost property," Flack stated looking down at the dirty flipflops he now sported. Better than nothing, he mused. Jo had also kindly given him some strong painkillers before he'd left which had done wonders for his hangover, even if he did still feel a little sick. He also knew she had had a long chat with Oscar and had explained to the little boy that Flack was indeed his father and that he would have to stay with him for a while. Flack wasn't sure if Oscar even liked that idea.

Mac pulled up to the curb at the store round the corner from Flack's apartment and shut off the engine.

"You'll be okay," he nodded to Flack as he turned round to look at him.

"Yeah," Flack muttered and had to stop himself from rolling his eyes in disbelief, Mac was only being kind.

"Don't forget your Captain has given you a week off, just till you get things sorted," Mac stated.

"Yeah, great," Flack gulped as he looked down at his son. Oscar was ignoring him, looking at Mac.

"You call me if you need to," Mac said sincerely, giving Flack a rare smile in an attempt to reassure him.

"Thanks," Flack mumbled as he opened the door and got out. He walked round to Oscar's side and opened the door. "Out ya get, Oscar," he said nervously, hoping the kid would obey.

Oscar looked once more at Mac and then slid out of the seat, pulling on his backpack.

"Don," Mac said and the tall detective came over to his open window. "You might need this."

Mac held out his hand out of the window and pushed some money into Flack's hands. Flack sighed and then shook his head.

"I didn't even think," he muttered. "I'll pay you back."

"I don't doubt it," Mac smiled. "You'll make a great father, Don."

Flack stared at him in doubt. "I haven't a clue what I'm doing here, Mac."

"The fact you are here, caring for this little boy, already makes you the best parent he's got right now," Mac stated wisely.

"Thanks," Flack muttered and then turned to Oscar. "Come on, let's go buy some food."

"Take care," Mac nodded as he watched them walk off towards the store. He felt worried for his good friend, knowing that his life had been completely turned upside down by the actions of one very selfish individual.

"So we just gotta get a few things before we go back home," Flack smiled as he looked down at Oscar walking beside him.

"S'not my home," Oscar said quietly and stared at his feet as he walked.

Flack swallowed nervously and grabbed a trolley from outside the store. This was going to be difficult, not that he had been under the impression that it would be easy.

"So what do you like to eat?" Flack asked as he walked down the first aisle, he had no idea what kids were supposed to eat. As far as he was aware there was special baby food for babies, but Oscar was far too old for that. And whenever he was babysitting Luce he normally treated her to pizza or ice-cream. Other than that he hadn't got a clue what kids ate.

"I like that," Oscar said quietly stopping and pointing to a high shelf. Flack followed his finger.

"Hey, I like peanut butter too," Flack grinned as he picked up two jars. "Crunchy or smooth?" he asked showing them to Oscar.

Oscar stared between them, deep in thought before finally saying, "Both?"

Flack grinned again. "You read my mind," he stated, placing both jars into the trolley. He turned around and noticed that for the first time since they'd met, Oscar was actually smiling. The magic of peanut butter, Flack thought.

"So you like any vegetables?" Flack asked as they hit the fruit and veg aisle.

"I like flowers," Oscar replied quietly, a small smile once again appearing on his lips.

Flack furrowed his brow as he looked at his son. He wasn't altogether comfortable with the notion of his son liking flowers and more to the point it was slightly off topic.

"Ahem, flowers?" he asked as he started walking down the aisle, looking down at the little boy beside him.

"Yep," Oscar nodded and his black curls shook around his face.

"Kay, well you just point it out," Flack said, feeling completely out of his depth already.

"There," Oscar said, tugging at the bottom of Flack's shorts and pointing to an item.

"Oh," Flack said in relief. "Cauliflower, that's just great."

He picked up one and put it in the trolley along with a couple of other veg, specifically green ones and some fruit too.

"Do you like bananas?" Flack asked as they stopped by the yellow fruit. "They're my favourite. Full of potassium."

"Potaso?" Oscar , frowning as he stared at the bananas Flack held in his hands. "I like them mashed."

"Mashed bananas?" Flack said, tilting his head in thought before nodding in accord. He liked the idea of mashed bananas too.

"No, mashed potasos," Oscar said shyly.

"Oh, potatoes," Flack nodded. "Well we'll get some spuds too then."

They finished up with the fruit and vegetable aisle and then rounded the corner to the frozen foods aisle. Flack started down it, deciding he'd pick up some pizzas and ice cream for a special treat...and because he liked them too. As he turned to speak to Oscar he noticed the little boy was no longer with him and his heart nearly leapt out of his throat. He turned in a panic and breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw that Oscar was standing at the end of the aisle watching him. Once Flack felt his heart slide back into place, he swallowed and walked back to where he stood.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You shouldn't go down there," Oscar stated, looking worried.

"Why not?" Flack frowned.

"You'll get eaten," Oscar said anxiously, his eyes wide and scared.

"Eaten?" Flack repeated. He felt so confused...kids were confusing. He knelt down beside Oscar so that they were face to face. "Why would I get eaten?" he asked.

"They eat you," Oscar told him, pointing at the chest freezers that lined the aisle on both sides.

"They won't eat you, buddy," Flack said, feeling somewhat relieved that he understood. "Who told you that?"

"Mummy," Oscar stated, looking at Flack in all sincerity.

"Ya Mum told you freezers eat people?" Flack said in disbelief.

Oscar nodded his head vehemently. "They eat ice-cream too and if you try to get it then you'll get eaten and you'll get froze to death."

Flack stood up again and felt something akin to anger burn through him. Clearly Devon had told Oscar that the freezers would eat him just to stop him from trying to grab some ice-cream when they were shopping. But the little boy seemed scared out of his mind and telling him he would die if he tried to get ice-cream was not the proper way to teach kids things, well, at least Flack didn't think it was.

"Hey, buddy, it's okay. They don't really eat you, I promise," Flack muttered as he nodded his head.

Oscar looked at him warily, clearly not believing his words.

"How about I show you?" Flack asked as he took a step towards the freezers.

"No!" Oscar said suddenly and latched onto Flack's shorts with his hands, unsuccessfully tugging him back. "I don't want you to go."

Flack stared down at Oscar and felt something inside himself that he wasn't too sure of, but it made him feel happy. He knelt down again and smiled at his son.

"I promise I'll be fine," he said gently. Suddenly he had an idea. "You know what I do as my job?" he asked.

Oscar shook his head.

"I'm a policeman," Flack stated. "You know what they do?"

"Save people..." Oscar said quietly.

"Yes. And we also catch bad people. We're very brave."

"Policemen are brave," Oscar agreed. "Officer Cockles in BirdyWordys is brave."

Flack blinked dumbly at his son before smiling. In the back of his mind he recalled BirdyWordys as being a children's television show about a town full of ducks and chickens that taught children different words. Lucy was a big fan of it and had made him watch it a few times. She'd even given Danny a figurine of the duck doctor 'Quackpot' telling her father that it was him. Flack thought that was funny.

"Exactly. So if I go down there I'll be fine cos I'm a policeman," Flack said reassuringly as he stood up.

Oscar still looked worried but he gently let go of Flack's shorts and watched as Flack walked down the aisle.

"You see, I'm fine," Flack grinned as he looked back at the small boy watching him. He quickly picked up a couple of packs of burgers and some pizzas. He stopped by the ice-cream.

"Hey, you like ice-cream?" he called to Oscar.

Oscar nodded his head.

"What's your favourite flavour?"

"Strawbry," Oscar mumbled.

"Great, mine too," Flack smiled as he picked up a tub and then came back over and dumped the items into the trolley. Deciding that he wouldn't make Oscar walk down the aisle they went on to the next one which had toiletries in it. Flack thought he better stock up on a few kids' medicines and such before he went to the check-out and paid. Then he carried the two bags in his hands as they left the store and Oscar trotted along beside him, trying to keep up with his big strides. Flack eventually noticed and slowed down his pace. He tried to think of something to talk to the little boy about, he wanted to know if Oscar might try to run from him again, and how he could prevent such a thing from happening. Maybe he was scary? Flack frowned in worry at that thought. He didn't have much experience with kids and maybe they thought he was scary. He was quite tall. The only kids he knew were Lucy and his brother Henry's daughter, Ola. But Henry lived out of the city now and he didn't see much of his family and Lucy he had always known so she wouldn't be scared of him. His attention was brought back to reality when he felt a tugging on his shorts and looked down to see Oscar looking up at him.

"Hey, buddy?" he smiled.

Oscar opened his mouth and then closed it, seemingly wanting to say something.

"You okay?" Flack asked.

"Yep," Oscar finally said and then kept on walking.

Flack shrugged and walked beside him. They eventually got back to his building and began the ascent up the stairs as the building had no elevator. Flack supposed he had better ring and let his sister and Grams know about Oscar. He didn't quite feel like doing it yet but they might be able to help out with childcare in the long term. Flack gulped as he suddenly realised he was thinking about long term childcare options. Only a few hours ago he'd assumed that he would be giving Oscar back to Devon and forgetting all about him. Now as he looked down at the little boy beside him he felt he never wanted to give him back to her again. And that thought terrified the living daylights out of him.

"Here we are," Flack muttered as they got to the fifth floor and then started walking along the corridor.

As they walked past, his neighbour's door opened and out came Mr. Papadopoulos, an elderly Greek man who was still sprightly for his age and went power walking every morning in the local park a few blocks over. He had a huge grey beard, twinkling blue eyes and always wore a straw trilby, whatever the weather and even when he went power walking.

"Donald, how are you?" he said joyfully in greeting.

"Hey there Mr. Papadopoulos. I'm fine. How are you?"

"Oh the day dawns well and sets upon a thousand Oleaceae shrubs."

Flack smiled back and when he noticed Oscar staring in confusion he simply shrugged his shoulders. Mr. Papadopoulos was forever talking in strange riddles and he seemed to almost know things before they happened. Once, Messer had been round and they'd got drunk and decided he must be some sort of magical wizard like Gandalf. The next day as Flack had left for work he'd bumped into Mr. Papadopoulos on the stairs and all the old man had said was, "I am indeed." The old Greek man also seemed to have an abundance of family members that were always dropping round and leaving food and sometimes, if Flack was lucky enough, he might get some too.

"And who is this strapping young fellow?" Mr. Papadopoulos asked, twinkling his eyes at Oscar.

"This is Oscar," Flack introduced.

Oscar immediately hid behind his legs and Flack felt two small hands wrap around his left knee.

"He's kinda shy," Flack muttered apologetically.

"So would I be too," Mr. Papadopoulos smiled. "In his position."

Flack stared open mouthed in confusion as the Greek tipped his hat and then turned down the corridor towards the stairs.

"He's crazy," whispered Flack to Oscar, making the little boy smile as they carried on to the apartment.

Flack unlocked his door and let Oscar in ahead of him before going in and locking the door behind him. He also shot the chain across, just to be on the safe side. Then he went over to the kitchen and began to put the shopping away while Oscar came over and watched him, half hiding behind the corner of the counter.

"Did you get orange juice?" he asked timidly.

Flack turned to look at him. "I got orange and apple," he grinned as he showed them both to Oscar before putting them in the fridge.

He then bent down to grab some more items from the bags on the floor when he felt his shorts being tugged on again. He smiled to himself; this was fast becoming a habit of the little boy.

"Yep?" Flack asked as he looked at the little boy from the upside down position he was in from being bent over the shopping bags.

"I sorry I got you in trouble," Oscar mumbled as his eyes came up from his feet and rested on Flack's face. They were wide and sad and Flack could see that tears might start appearing from them at any moment. He quickly straightened up and then knelt down beside the little boy.

"That's alright. I get it, you were scared," Flack nodded.

"I not meant to be. Mummy says being scared is only for sissies."

Flack had to try hard not to frown as he once more felt angry at Devon.

"Well you want to know a secret? I was scared too," Flack said honestly.

"You were?" Oscar asked in surprise.

"Yep. So it's fine to be scared sometimes," Flack told him.

"I get scared a lot," Oscar said very quietly and Flack felt something inside himself break a little bit. He had the strong impression that Devon hadn't taken very good care of the little boy.

"Well that's nothing to be ashamed of," Flack said in a voice a lot more confident than he was feeling. "I guess I'm probably quite scary to you," he said sadly. "And your Mum just leaving you here and going away and you don't even know who I am must be very, very scary."

Oscar looked back down at the floor and mumbled something.

"Sorry?" Flack asked gently.

Oscar looked back up at him and sniffed. He had snot dribbling from his nose.

"Has Mummy really gone away?" he asked.

Flack pursed his lips together and wondered what the hell he was supposed to tell the kid. "Just for a little bit," he finally said. "But I'm a policeman and all my friends are too and we're doing our very best to find her," Flack reassured him.

"Do I stay with you then?" Oscar asked quietly.

"Yeah, you stay with me," Flack nodded. He then voiced a question that had been worrying him for some time now. "Is that okay?"

Oscar stared at him and Flack once again felt his heart in his throat as he waited for an answer.

"I guess so," Oscar finally said and Flack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cool. So how about I put the rest of this shopping away and then we can have some ice-cream?"

"Now?" Oscar gasped.

"Yep, now," Flack replied as he picked up the last few items.

"But Mummy says ice-cream is only for a special treat," Oscar stated.

"Well Mummy's not here right now," Flack said as he turned and looked down at the boy. "You're with Daddy now and he does things a little differently."

Oscar slowly smiled at him and then nodded. Flack turned back to the fridge and took in a deep breath.

Daddy.

He had just called himself Daddy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Flack watched as the little boy opposite him tucked into the ice-cream he had placed before him only a moment ago. He took the spoon and carefully dug it into the bowl and then steadily put the spoonful of ice-cream into his mouth. He grinned excitedly and some of it dribbled back out from the corners of his mouth. It was the first time Flack had seen him look really happy. Flack himself had decided to go without ice-cream, still feeling the effects of the previous night, and had instead made himself some coffee and a slice of toast. He had never thought of his dining table being especially big but Oscar seemed tiny behind it and almost struggled to get his arm high enough to dig out the ice-cream from the bowl. Flack resigned himself to the fact he'd most likely have to buy some sort of bumper seat. In fact, if Oscar living with him was going to be permanent, there were probably a lot of things he'd need to buy.

"That good, huh?" Flack asked as he sipped his coffee, it was making him feel a million times better.

Oscar nodded his head and smiled again, pushing a big spoonful into his mouth.

"Not too much at once," Flack warned and then scratched the back of his neck absent mindedly. "So what would you normally be doing today?" he asked.

Oscar thought about it for a moment, tilting his head and then he said quietly. "Playing in my room."

Flack frowned. "Don't you go to kindergarten?"

Oscar shook his head and then wiped away the ice-cream that was dribbling down his chin with a hand.

"So you don't go to school at all?" Flack asked, quite surprised.

Oscar shook his head again and took another spoonful of ice-cream.

"Well does your Mummy teach you?" Flack asked. It wouldn't surprise him if Devon had wanted her child homeschooled.

"No, Mummy goes out all day," Oscar mumbled, concentrating on digging at the ice-cream rather than answering Flack's questions.

"So does someone else look after you then? A tutor or a nanny?" Flack reasoned.

Oscar looked up at him and furrowed his brow, clearly thinking hard. He held the spoon up while he thought and the melted ice-cream from the top of it dripped down the handle and over his hand.

"Mummy lets me play by myself and if I'm good she reads me a story at bedtime," Oscar explained, stating his words very slowly. "I like playing by myself," he smiled at Flack.

Flack smiled at Oscar nodding until the little boy looked back at his ice-cream and then he frowned. Something was off here because to him, it sounded very much like Devon went out leaving Oscar alone in her house and would placate him with a story to keep him well behaved.

"So you've never been to school?" Flack asked in a bid to get to the bottom of the mystery.

"I used to. I had to wear special clothes but they were itchy," Oscar mumbled.

A uniform...private school, Flack mused. And with Devon's money it was probably a very good one at that. However that didn't explain why Oscar had stopped going there.

"So why did you stop going to school?" Flack asked as he finished off his slice of toast.

Almost immediately Oscar dropped his spoon and the smile on his face disappeared. He shrank into himself and simply stared at Flack with wide eyes.

"Oh hey, it's okay," Flack said hurriedly, worried at the reaction his question had caused in the little boy.

"Mummy shouted at me," Oscar said quietly. "And the teachers shouted at me too."

"Why did they shout at you?" Flack asked worriedly.

"They said I was naughty and I couldn't come back."

Flack nodded and tried to smile but inside he was feeling extremely concerned. This sounded very much like an expulsion and he had absolutely no idea what Oscar could have done be excluded from school when he was only at kindergarten age.

"What did you do that was naughty?" Flack asked gently, his heart thumping painfully in his suddenly tight chest.

Oscar looked like he might cry and shrunk even further back on his seat, head low and knees drawn up protectively. Flack sighed and then stood up and walked round the table to the chair. He pushed it out and then knelt down in front of it.

"Hey?" he said softly and waited for Oscar to raise his head a little and look at him.

"I don't mind what it was, okay? You can tell me anything," he said, not really sure what the best way was to get things out of children.

Oscar stared sadly at Flack and a tear fell down his cheek. He brushed it away leaving an ice-cream stain there instead.

Finally he took a large breath and said very quietly, "I hit Tommy."

Flack was flabbergasted and sat back on his legs, mouth dropping open before he realised that this probably wasn't the reaction Oscar had been hoping for and that he should reassure his son.

"Why did you hit Tommy?" Flack asked.

More tears fell down Oscar's cheeks and he looked away from Flack at the kitchen.

"Can I go home now?" he murmured as tears dripped down his face.

"Hey...we've been through this...you're gonna stay with me for a little bit... I thought that was okay?" Flack gulped.

"I want to go home," Oscar said sadly.

Flack could feel the panic inside him start to rise. He had no idea what to do, Oscar was upset and he didn't know why and he didn't know how to stop it.

"You can't go home, Oscar, I'm sorry," Flack finally sighed, not knowing what else to tell the kid.

"You're mean!" Oscar suddenly shouted in is fiercest voice which still sounded rather squeaky and then he got up and pushed past Flack and ran down the hallway.

Flack sat staring numbly at the chair. He knew Oscar couldn't get out of the apartment this time but he honestly had no idea what to do next. His son had just called him mean. He was mean. Flack felt a pain in his chest. He stood and followed the sounds of sniffling through his bedroom towards his closet and discovered the little boy hidden among his t-shirts and sweaters in the bottom of it.

"Hey," Flack smiled as best he could. "What you doing down there?"

"M'sorry," the little boy cried into one of Flack's sweaters and Flack hoped he wouldn't get it ruined; it was one of his favourites.

"What you got to be sorry about?" Flack smiled as bravely as he could and gently reached a hand out to touch the boy on the back.

Oscar was suddenly aware of the hand coming towards him and jumped badly. Flack immediately withdrew his hand. Clearly he hadn't formed a strong enough bond to touch the little boy yet.

"You tired?" Flack asked in an effort to comfort Oscar who was clearly wearing himself out by crying.

Oscar nodded his head into the sweater.

"Well okay, you wanna take a nap?" Flack asked. "I can let you sleep in my bed?"

Oscar nodded again and finally gave in, standing and trailing out of the closet towards Flack's bed, Flack's sweater still grasped tight in his hand. He climbed onto the bed and Flack pulled the sheet over him, quickly disposing of the pizza box, pear and sock he still had lying there.

"Okay, well I'm gonna be right outside if you need me, okay? You sleep as long as you want," Flack murmured.

Oscar simply yawned and closed his eyes and almost immediately looked like he was asleep. Flack sighed, shaking his head worriedly and then crept from the room. He collapsed down onto his couch head in his hands. What the hell was going on with this kid? So he'd been expelled for hitting another kid from the sounds of it. But why? What on Earth could have caused such a violent reaction in what seemed to be a painfully shy and subdued child? And where the hell was Devon in all this? Going out and leaving him alone all day, playing by himself. That wasn't the kind of life a kid should have. He should be out playing with his friends and having fun at school, painting and having races and using the sandpit. Flack clenched his fists in anger. Devon should have been looking after him not abandoning him. For the first time that day Flack suddenly felt glad he had a son, and that his son knew who he was. He'd never allow such negligence to befall Oscar. He'd look after him even if Devon didn't want to know anymore and he'd damn well make sure that his son would go to school and make friends and be happy, just as a child should be. Flack growled in his throat and then stood up and padded to the kitchen area and began clearing the plates. Once he was finished he took a shower and crept into his bedroom to put on some clean clothes. Oscar was still asleep in the bed, sheet now down by his ankles and was instead wrapped up in Flack's sweater. Flack shook his head and chuckled quietly, realising he'd probably never get that back now. Afterwards Flack switched on the TV and started watching a film about reindeers, despite it being almost a month since Christmas. He was just dropping off when he heard a noise behind him and looked up to see Oscar standing there, now wearing his sweater which was far too large and came down to the ground on him, as did the sleeves.

"Hey buddy, feeling better?" Flack grinned.

Oscar nodded and fidgeted where he was standing.

"You wanna come and watch some TV with me?" Flack asked as he held out his hand.

Oscar smiled and stumbled toward the couch and climbed up snuggling down on the seat next to Flack.

"I was just watching this film about reindeers," Flack stated conversationally and the little boy giggled.

"S'not reindeers, they mooses," he replied as though Flack was incredibly thick.

"Mooses?" Flack muttered, frowning at the TV.

"They big mooses. Moose moose," Oscar smiled.

"Moose moose?" Flack repeated, it vaguely rang a bell with him.

"Moose moose, nice with juice," Oscar sung waving the sleeves of Flack's sweater about excitedly.

Flack mentally hit himself as he realised it was the song from the chocolate mousse advert and that there was a picture of a large moose printed on the packaging for it.

"You like animals?" Flack asked Oscar.

The little boy nodded his head. "I want to have one of every kind when I grow big and be an animal doctor."

"A vet?" Flack said, eyebrows raised in interest.

"No, an animal doctor," Oscar said, smiling at Flack's silly mistake.

Flack just grinned at him. "Oh yeah, silly me," he laughed.

Oscar slid a bit closer to Flack and gave a loud sigh. "M'sorry I called you mean," he mumbled.

"That's alright. You were upset," Flack stated and his hand involuntarily moved closer to his son. He wondered at why Oscar was always so ready to apologise, whether this was a good thing or whether he'd been forced to apologise for so many things before that it just came naturally to him.

"Tommy made me upset," Oscar said, looking up at Flack with his big blue eyes. "He said I was a girl and pushed me over."

"He pushed you?" Flack growled, feeling an immediate bolt of anger strike through his body.

"I'm not making it up!" Oscar quickly said, curling up.

Flack quickly relaxed his face. "I didn't think you were..." he said frowning and then suddenly, "Why? Who did?... Did Devon...did your Mum say you made it up?"

Oscar nodded his head. "Mummy and the teachers said Tommy was a good boy and wouldn't be nasty and that I made it up," he mumbled.

"But you didn't?" Flack asked.

"No and then he pushed me again and I hurt my arm so I hit him," Oscar said quietly and it broke Flack's heart to hear such a young voice so full of sorrow.

"And that's why you stopped going to school?" Flack asked gently.

"I didn't mean to," Oscar said quickly. "Everyone said I made it up."

"Course you didn't mean to," Flack stated. He knew eventually he'd have to have a chat with Oscar about two wrongs not making a right but now wasn't the time for it. Oscar was too fragile to learn any of life's lessons at that moment.

"Are you mad at me?" Oscar suddenly said, eyes drifting back up to Flack's face.

"Of course I'm not mad," Flack said kindly. "I'm mad at everyone for not believing you, and I'm mad at this kid for being mean to you."

"All the kids were mean to me," Oscar said, sticking out his lower lip. "They said I was a girl and I smelt funny."

Flack felt his heart break in pity for the little boy. "Well I can tell you now that you don't smell funny at all and you're definitely not a girl," he smiled.

Oscar then smiled back at him, sniffing and wiping his nose on the sleeve of Flack's sweater. "You smell funny," he told Flack.

Flack's eyebrow's rose into his hairline. "I do?"

"You did this morning," Oscar said solemnly while Flack grinned. He had indeed stunk of beer and cider for most of the day.

"You feeling better now?" Flack asked, grinning in amusement.

"Yep," Oscar nodded.

"Good" Flack replied.

"Can I have some juice?" Oscar asked quietly.

"Yeah, course. Orange or apple?" Flack asked as he stood and made his way to the kitchen.

"Mmmm... apple," Oscar grinned, waving his arms around and making Flack's sleeves flop about.

"Got it," Flack replied and poured out a glass for the little boy and then returned and held it out to him.

Oscar frowned and started to pull up the sleeves with difficulty.

"You want a hand there, buddy?" Flack asked as he put down the glass and helped Oscar to roll them up.

As soon as his hands came into view Flack groaned. They were still covered in the sticky ice-cream that he could now also see on Oscar's chin and cheek. Bits of fluff and such things had stuck to them.

"Think I need to get you a bit cleaned up first," Flack nodded and then padded to the kitchen to grab the wipes he'd bought that afternoon. When he returned Oscar had found his little backpack from somewhere and was reaching for the zip.

"Nuh, uh, clean hands first," Flack stated as he gently reached out and took hold of one of Oscar's hands. It was the first time he'd touched his son. Flack began to clean up both his hands and then quickly did his chin and cheek as well. Oscar smiled happily once Flack had finished.

"Done?" he asked.

"Done," Flack nodded.

Oscar then peeped into his bag before closing the zip and reaching out for the glass of juice. Flack passed it to him and Oscar took it in both hands and drank deeply from it. Then he poked Flack in the leg to catch his attention and passed the glass back to him for Flack to place on the table.

"Moose moose, nice with juice," Oscar sang and bounced on the cushions.

Flack chuckled to himself. "So what you got in your bag there, buddy?" he asked.

Oscar immediately became coy and grabbed for his bag, holding it tightly to his chest.

"You gonna let me see?" Flack asked.

Oscar thought about it for a moment and then, "Okay," he said cheerfully.

He slowly undid the zip and reached inside to pull out a pair of pyjamas. They were red with blue teddy bears on them.

"Jamas," Oscar said matter-of-factly. "I sleep in these."

"I like the bears," Flack told him as the little boy pushed them into his lap. "Very cool."

"Do you have jamas?" Oscar asked interestedly.

"Err yeah," Flack muttered, realising that he may well actually have to go out and purchase a pair now that he had a kid living with him.

Oscar reached back into his bag and then pulled out a toothbrush. "This is for cleaning your teeth" he stated, holding it out for Flack to take.

"Yeah, so they stay nice and white," Flack nodded.

"You're not allowed to use it," Oscar said in a warning tone that just came across as amusing to Flack.

"I promise I won't. I have my own one," he chuckled.

Oscar seemed satisfied with his answer and then nodded. Next he pulled out a book with a cute brown rabbit on the front with the words, 'It's time for bed, Robert Rabbit!'

"This is my favourite story," Oscar said excitedly as he placed the book carefully down beside him. "You can read it sometimes too," Oscar said and then grinned at Flack, as though there wasn't anything Flack wanted to do more than read that book.

"Thank you," Flack nodded and reached for the book.

"Not now," Oscar said grabbing the book back. "Only when I say so."

"Oh right," Flack chuckled. "Sorry."

Oscar grinned at him. "I like bunny rabbits."

"I used to own a rabbit," Flack informed him. "He was called Robert too."

"Where is he?" Oscar asked, looking round.

"He caused too much trouble so I had to give him away. He lives with Mr. Papadopoulos' daughter. She has a big house out in the country so Robert can have a run in the grass which is much better for him."

"That sounds nice," Oscar nodded. He looked back into his bag and then starred back at Flack looking slightly hesitant.

"What else you got in there, kiddo?" Flack asked casually.

Oscar twitched his lips and fidgeted for a moment before finally pulling out the last item. It was a soft toy in the shape of a cat. It had a very long body but rather short arms and legs and was stripy ginger all over except for its paws, chest and around the nose which were all white. It had a very long tail too that was white at the tip and its neck had obviously been squeezed and cuddled so much that the stuffing had been worn away and now its head lolled over to one side. It looked very obviously loved.

"Who's this?" Flack asked, knowing exactly how to ask children about their teddies because of Lucy and her teddy bear, Bear.

Oscar smiled shyly and then hugged the cat to him. "His name is Mister Mittens," he squeaked happily.

"Mister Mittens," Flack hummed. "Why is he called that?"

"Cause he looks like he wearing mittens, silly," Oscar said and Flack was almost sure that the little boy had rolled his eyes at him, taking very much after his father.

"Can I meet him?" Flack asked politely.

"Hmmm," Oscar debated and then turned his back to Flack and began whispering with the cat whose head flopped about in response.

Flack smiled down happily at the little boy and watched him in interest. He'd never really taken the time to watch the children he knew communicate with their toys and it was quite a strange experience.

"He says only if you're nice," Oscar finally said, looking back at Flack.

Flack blinked at him. "And am I nice?" he asked.

Oscar's eyes roamed over his face for a moment and then he grinned. "I think you're nice," he said happily and pushed Mister Mittens into Flack's arms.

Flack held the soft toy and used a hand to cup the back of its head so that it didn't loll about anymore.

"Hi, Mister Mittens," Flack said, feeling slightly anxious at talking to a stuffed toy. "I'm Flack."

"Mister Mittens says you're big," Oscar stated, sitting back on his knees so he could turn and look at Flack.

"I have to be big so I can be a policeman," Flack told the ginger cat.

"Mister Mittens thinks you're brave too," Oscar said.

"I think Oscar is brave," Flack said to the cat.

Oscar paused and stared at Flack, head tilted slightly. "You think I brave?" he asked quietly.

"I think you're very brave," Flack told the little boy sincerely. "And Mister Mittens thinks you're brave too cos he just told me."

Oscar looked unsure for a moment and then smiled. "Brave like you," he said happily to Flack.

"Yeah, just like me," Flack chuckled and then passed the cat back to Oscar who hugged it excitedly. Flack laughed again; trust his son to have a cat as a soft toy out of all the animals in the world. Oh well, better than a spider, he mused.

"Mister Mittens says he likes you," Oscar said happily as he sat back down the right way round and looked up at Flack.

"Well I like Mister Mittens," Flack grinned as he swung his arm along the back over the sofa and yawned.

"I'm sleepy again," Oscar said softly and then gently curled up against Flack's body, Mister Mittens under his arm.

Flack felt his heart skip a beat as he looked down at the little boy who was now happily watching the TV and cuddling the cat. Slowly, with a deep breath, Flack moved his arm until it rested over his son and Oscar snuggled up under it, still wearing Flack's sweater.

"I like you too," Oscar whispered sleepily.

Flack was certain that he'd been unable to breathe for at least a minute after Oscar said that.

* * *

A/N - I know this day is going by very slowly, but as it is the first day of Flack meeting his son I don't really wanna skip bits out. Other csiny characters will be in it later on I promise.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N - Thank you very much reviewers, I love them so, so much, they make me really happy! Here's another chapter, let me know what you think!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Flack sighed again as he looked down at the little boy still asleep under his arm and then flicked his gaze back to the television. He'd been watching the same show about the development of an Angstrom-beam electron diffraction method which enabled scientists to characterize the local icosohedral order in metallic glasses for over an hour. It was so dreadfully boring and unfortunately Flack had left the remote just out of his reach. If he moved to get it he'd wake up Oscar and he didn't really want to do that. So there he'd sat, watching and waiting and being slowly bored to death by the show. Danny would probably have loved it, Hawkes definitely would have. Flack smiled to himself as he thought about how he could shock them all with his knowledge of this subject the next time he saw them, they were always making jokes about how he wasn't as intelligent as them.

"Mmm... Mummy?" squeaked a little voice and Flack looked down, attempting not to feel saddened by what he'd just heard. Of course Oscar would still want his Mum; it hadn't even been a day since he'd last seen her.

"Um... 'fraid not, buddy," Flack said softly.

Oscar stretched and blinked his big blue eyes up at Flack and then he smiled. "Flack!" he beamed.

"Yep, that's me," Flack nodded and removed his arm so the little boy could sit up.

"What you doing?" asked Oscar, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he looked around, seeming to have forgotten exactly where he was and what had happened to him.

"Watching science stuff on the TV," Flack replied, using the opportunity to quickly turn it over to the kids' channel.

Oscar made a face. "I hate science!"

Flack chuckled loudly. "Me too, buddy, me too."

Oscar suddenly noticed his things that he'd taken from his bag that were still beside them and began putting them neatly back into his backpack, folding the pyjamas first.

"You got anything else in there?" Flack asked, wondering how a five year old could be so tidy.

"Nope, Mummy said to pack just what was portant," Oscar replied as he shoved the book and toothbrush in.

"Ya Mum told you to pack?" Flack asked.

Oscar nodded his head. "She said I needed to pack portant stuff only."

"So that's all ya got?" Flack asked, starting to feel angry again at Devon for like the millionth time that day.

"Yep," Oscar smiled happily, assuming he'd done a good job of the task.

Flack ran a hand over his face and frowned. How the hell was he supposed to look after a kid with one toothbrush, one book, a soft toy and a pair of pyjamas?! Oscar had no clothes, toys, educational items with him and Flack had never owned anything like that in his life. Come to think of it, his spare room was stuffed full of boxes and was used as a make-shift office most of the time. He had no second bed or anything. He didn't even know where Oscar was going to sleep that night.

"Did I do it wrong?"

Flack quickly looked down to see Oscar looking slightly upset.

"Nah course not. That's exactly what I would pack in an emergency too," Flack nodded. "Think we might have to go shopping again in the morning though, you might need a few more clothes."

"But I can wear yours!" Oscar smiled and pointed to the sweater of Flack's he still wore.

"Mine might be a bit big on you, buddy," Flack said kindly. "But we can get you some good ones, that okay?"

"I guess so," Oscar said slowly. "But only if I like them?"

"Deal," Flack grinned. "So, you hungry for dinner?" he asked.

"Mmhm," Oscar nodded. "I like food."

"I like food too," Flack smiled as he stood up and made his way to the kitchen. He turned on the oven and then took a pizza out of the freezer, ready to cook. He'd make a proper dinner for the kid tomorrow.

"Moose moose, nice with juice," Oscar suddenly squeaked and Flack turned to see the chocolate mousse advert was showing on the TV.

"You sing it!" ordered Oscar as he stood and looked over the back of the couch at Flack.

"Oh...um...moose moose, nice with juice..." Flack mumbled rather incoherently and then sniggered at the almost disgusted look on his son's face.

"You can't sing very well," Oscar stated bluntly, unaware he was doing so.

"That's why I'm not a popstar," Flack chuckled as he opened the pizza to put in the oven.

"Look, it's you!" Oscar said excitedly.

Flack turned once again and saw that BirdyWordys had started on the TV. An extremely plump cockerel was waddling about on the screen attempting to run after a crook. He wore an officers' shirt, tie and hat and his red tail feathers sprouted up behind him. Flack found he actually felt rather insulted at the stereotypical portrayal of a policeman on the show. They weren't all fat and doughnut loving.

"Is that what you're like at work?" Oscar asked innocently.

"Not quite, I can run a bit faster than that," Flack smiled.

"I can run fast too," piped up Oscar looking rather pleased with himself.

Flack grinned as he watched the little boy. Oscar seemed to be more confident with him and he guessed it was simply from them spending some time together. It made Flack feel pleased that Oscar was already relaxing with him and hadn't tried to run away again.

"You take after your Dad there," Flack stated happily and then turned back to the oven to check on the time.

As he looked back he noticed Oscar had immediately changed and looked rather shy again and Flack mentally kicked himself. He shouldn't have mentioned about being his father, Oscar was obviously still not used to that fact yet.

"Hey, you want to come and sit up at the table, dinner is nearly ready?" Flack said as a change of topic.

"Mmmmm..." Oscar murmured quietly and looked a little reluctant to move from the couch.

Flack moved over to the back of it and looked down at the small boy. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"Can Mister Mittens come too?" Oscar asked quietly, cuddling his cat to him.

"Sure," Flack smiled.

Oscar grinned and then came round and sat at the table while Flack served up the pizza. Neither of them ate much, Oscar only having a small appetite and Flack still feeling a little ill from his big night out.

"Mister Mittens says he liked your dinner," Oscar said shyly, whispering with his toy.

"Did he now?" Flack asked in amusement.

"You should be a cook!" Oscar beamed as he wiped his mouth. Somehow he'd managed to get tomato and oil all over his face and hands.

Flack chuckled at the thought that heating up a frozen pizza qualified him as a chef in Oscar's eyes.

"You're a mucky pup, aren't you?" he sighed as he surveyed Oscar's messy face and hands. "I think it's time for a wash before bedtime."

"Wash?" Oscar said in slight dismay.

"Yep," Flack nodded. "Come on."

Oscar slid off his chair and followed Flack into his bathroom where Flack turned on the shower.

"It takes a few seconds to heat up," he told the little boy. "Now, you need me to stay or can you wash yourself?" he asked awkwardly. He didn't feel very comfortable at the idea of being in the presence of a naked child even if he was his son.

"I wash myself at home," Oscar stated slowly. "But I don't like it."

"Hmmm," Flack frowned. "Well you gotta wash, buddy. Now, I'll go and tidy up and you clean yourself up."

Flack closed the door gently and then went back to the kitchen and cleaned up the plates they'd used for the pizza. Then he decided it might be best to change the sheets on his bed as they smelt bad and had pizza and ice-cream stains on them. As he stared at the freshly made bed it suddenly occurred to him that Oscar still had nowhere to sleep. Frowning, he went to the cupboard and dug around for the blow up bed he'd bought for that one time he had been forced to go camping with Henry and his family. It had been hell on Earth. Flack eventually found it and took it into the lounge, making short work of blowing it up. Then he covered it in a sheet and blanket and placed a pillow on the top. He then noticed that Mister Mittens was still sat at the dining table so he carefully placed him on top of the pillow and stepped back to admire his work. That would have to do for the time being. He picked up Oscar's small back pack and pulled out the pyjamas and carried them to the bathroom door.

"Hey, buddy, I got you pyjamas," Flack shouted.

He heard nothing from the other side and started to feel a bit panicked.

"Oscar? You okay in there?"

Once again there was no reply and then suddenly he was sure he heard a whimper over the noise of the shower. Flack quickly opened the door and went in. Oscar was sat on the toilet seat with his legs pulled up, crying into his arms.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Flack asked worriedly as he went forward to the toilet and knelt before it.

Oscar shook his head and cried even harder. Flack once again felt that familiar panic as his son cried in front of him and he had no idea what to do. 'Keep calm,' he told himself.

"Come on, buddy. Talk to me," Flack said and reached out and stroked Oscar's arm comfortingly.

"I don't want to," Oscar finally said, gasping breaths as he tried to calm himself.

"You don't wanna wash?" Flack asked, still confused as to what the problem was.

Oscar nodded his head and then looked up at Flack, a moment's pause passing between them before Oscar took a deep breath and stared at the shower.

"It'll swallow me," he said very slowly, pointing to the plughole.

Flack turned and looked, watching the water swirl round the bottom of the shower before disappearing down the drain.

"You won't get swallowed, you're too big to fit down there," he said, smiling reassuringly at the boy.

"No, it will, it will!" Oscar said fearfully. "I put my foot in and it made a scary noise!"

Flack sighed worriedly as he realised what Oscar was talking about. The drain in his shower wasn't the most efficient and it often made loud gurgling noises as the water ran down it. He guessed it could be quite frightening to a five year old.

"It's just the water draining away," Flack said. "You'll be fine if you stand in there, I do every day and I'm fine."

"But you're big!" Oscar cried as his bottom lip trembled and he looked like he might cry again.

"Okay, okay..." Flack said hurriedly, trying to calm the boy down again. "So how do you wash at home?"

"Mummy pours me a bath and then lets me wash..." Oscar mumbled.

"Ya Mum leaves you alone in the bath?" Flack asked wondering why this didn't even surprise him anymore.

"Yep," Oscar nodded.

"Well then I guess I can pour you a bath," Flack stated as he stood and turned off the shower before going to the bathtub and turning on the taps.

Flack frowned as he watched the tub slowly filling. He didn't think he'd actually ever used his bath as long as he'd lived there. In fact, if he remembered correctly the only times it did ever get used was when he'd fill it with cold water, pour in a load of ice and keep beers in it during parties he'd held. Multipurpose he'd called it. He turned as he felt something pulling at his trousers and saw Oscar had come and stood next to him and was looking into the bath.

"Do I got to go in there?" Oscar asked.

"Yep," Flack nodded.

"Really?" Oscar asked.

"Really," Flack confirmed.

Oscar sighed loudly and looked unsure. "Why do we gotta wash anyway?" he asked.

"So we don't smell," Flack told him, amused.

"Like you did?" Oscar asked innocently.

Flack smirked and then chuckled. "Yeah, like I did."

"Okay then," Oscar sighed and started to pull off Flack's sweater. He folded it up and placed it atop the toilet seat. Then he took off his t-shirt but got it stuck round his head.

"Here, let me help," Flack said and knelt down and pulled it off. "And trousers," Flack stated as he helped undo them for Oscar and held them low so he could step out of them. He then went back to checking on the water, letting Oscar remove his own pants by himself.

"Ready?" Flack asked as he turned off the taps.

"I spose so," Oscar sighed a little reluctantly and then put his hands on the bath edge, looking over.

Flack suddenly realised that his tub was quite high and he'd have to help Oscar in.

"You want a hand?" he asked as he put his hands under Oscar's arms and lifted him into the water.

"I don't like washing," Oscar stated as he sat down in the water and pouted.

"But you don't want to smell do you?" Flack asked, pulling up his sleeves and reaching for the soap.

"Is that why everyone said I smelt?" Oscar suddenly asked. "Cos I didn't wash enough?"

"No, they were just bullies," Flack told him as he knelt down next to the bath and then took hold of one of Oscar's arms and began soaping it up. He was surprised by how skinny it felt.

"Am I a bully?" Oscar asked earnestly.

"No, course not," Flack said, shaking his head. "You're a very brave and lovely little boy."

"And what are you then?" Oscar asked as he stared at Flack wide-eyed.

Flack took a moment, wondering what exactly he was, and what he should say to Oscar.

"Me?" he murmured. "I'm your Dad," he smiled.

Oscar stared at him for a second and for one awful moment Flack thought he might cry again before he suddenly smiled at him.

"I like you," he said again and then splashed his hands happily in the water.

"Hey you'll get me wet!" Flack exclaimed, moving out of the way.

Oscar giggled and hit the water harder, spraying Flack and getting him soaked.

"Hey, no fair!" Flack laughed and then splashed his hand into the water himself, getting Oscar wet.

"Stop it, stop it!" Oscar giggled and then started splashing Flack again, getting him completely drenched.

"Hmm, looks like I seem to have had a wash as well," Flack grinned as he looked down at his wet shirt that was now sticking to him with the water.

"You're wet!" Oscar smiled as he pointed to Flack's chest.

"So are you, buddy," Flack pointed out.

"I meant to be. You not spose to wash with your clothes on," Oscar laughed.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Flack asked as he once again put his hands under Oscar's arms and lifted him from the water.

"It's cold," Oscar shivered as he stood on the mat.

"Let's dry you off then," Flack said and put a big fluffy towel round the little boy's shoulders and began to dry him. It suddenly occurred to him that his earlier discomfort about being with a naked child had completely disappeared and all he cared about was getting his son clean, dry and comfortable.

"You want help putting on your pyjamas?" asked Flack as he held them out for Oscar.

"No I can do it," Oscar stated. "I'm good at getting dressed. Not like you."

"Not like me?" exclaimed Flack in confusion.

"You forgot to put on your shoes," Oscar stated, grinning at Flack.

"Oh yeah, I did, didn't I?!" Flack laughed as he hung up the towel and then he and Oscar left the bathroom and went back to the lounge.

"Mister Mittens!" Oscar said gleefully and then jumped onto the air bed and hugged the cat to him.

"You ready to go to sleep?" Flack asked as he sat on the floor and helped Oscar to get tucked in with the cat.

"Will you read me my story?" Oscar asked carefully.

"Sure," Flack nodded and then took the book from Oscar's backpack and opened it, clearing his throat before he started. "Once upon a time there was a little rabbit called Robert. Robert Rabbit lived in a burrow near the edge of the woods. He played outside all day with his friends Bertie and Jacob. When the sun started to set, all the good little rabbits went inside for their bedtime... except Robert Rabbit. He carried on playing in the meadow, picking wild flowers and bouncing in the grass. Mrs Rabbit came to the door and called, 'It's time for bed, Robert Rabbit!'"

"No, you did it wrong. You gotta do the voices," Oscar sleepily interrupted.

"Oh, um, sure..." Flack muttered and then tried again. "It's time for bed, Robert Rabbit!" he said in a high pitched voice. "Better?" he asked.

"Better," Oscar nodded, closing his eyes.

"But Robert Rabbit didn't want to go to bed, so he bounced into the lounge where his Uncle was reading a book. 'Uncle, will you play with me?' he asked. 'No, it's time for bed, Robert Rabbit!' replied his Uncle."

Flack paused and looked down at Oscar. The small boy had closed his eyes and was already breathing slightly louder. Flack smiled and gently closed the book. He placed it down next to Oscar's bed and then stood up, staring at the boy for a moment before finally turning out the light and going into his bedroom. He flicked on the TV and then pulled off his wet t-shirt and trousers and got into bed. Reservoir Dogs was just starting so he lay back and watched it even though his mind was far away elsewhere.

Oscar.

His son, Oscar.

The little boy was so sweet, so genuinely kind and concerned about doing the right thing. But then he was so painfully shy and reserved. He had no trouble in apologising and neatly folding up his clothes. He seemed to have spent most of his time alone, without any kind of guardian and yet he had hit another boy at school. Flack was utterly confused by the actions. He simply didn't know what to make of the kid. He always found it so easy to read suspects at work, put them into categories, tell if they were lying. But this one little boy had completely flummoxed him. However, there was one thing he was certain of. Oscar was his son, and he would now look after him for the rest of his life if he had too. Flack felt his eyes closing against the glare of the movie and turned it off, rolling onto his side. He felt exhausted from everything that had happened that day and was asleep within minutes. He was unaware that the moon came out from behind a cloud and shone brightly into his room through the slightly open curtains. Unaware of the rather large spider that ran across the floor and hid under the chest of draws. Unaware of the slight thudding in the corridor outside as Mr. Papadopoulos came home from an evening out with his friends. Flack tossed and turned, rolling back over onto his other side and blearily opening his eyes, waking slightly for no apparent reason.

"Aargh!" he yelped as he was faced with something staring at him.

At once the something began to cry and Flack immediately saw it was Oscar.

"Oscar what's wrong?" Flack asked the little boy, willing himself to fully wake up.

"M'sorry..." mumbled Oscar as he stood at the side of the bed and trembled.

"You're sorry? What for?" Flack asked, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.

"I didn't mean to...please don't shout..." Oscar cried and a tear dribbled down his cheek.

"Shout? Why would I shout? What happened?" Flack asked as he swung his legs out of the bed and then stood up, coming forward to kneel by his son.

"Please don't yell...it was an accident, I promise..." Oscar trembled, shivering badly.

"Oscar, I'm not gonna yell or shout, I'm not cross," Flack said. "Just tell me..." he stopped as a strange smell wafted up his nose and then he looked down at the little boy and gently reached out and touched his pyjamas. They were soaking.

"Oh, buddy," Flack sighed sympathetically as he stood up and took Oscar's hand. "Come on, let's go to the bathroom."

Oscar let himself be led to the bathroom, not even struggling against Flack's hold on him. Flack turned on the light and blinked at the brightness before turning back to Oscar and once more bending down.

"Okay, let's get you out of these wet clothes," he said, pulling down the pyjama trousers and throwing them aside. Then he took off the top half and added that to the pile.

"M'sorry..." muttered Oscar again, shivering and hugging his arms around himself.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad," Flack said kindly as he took a damp sponge and quickly wiped down Oscar's legs.

"Mummy was always mad with me," Oscar whispered.

Flack shook his head sadly at that and then took hold of Oscar's hand again and led him back into his bedroom.

"Right, how about wearing one of my t-shirts then?" Flack said, smiling at his son as he grabbed his old NYPD one. "Wanna wear a cop's t-shirt?"

Oscar stared and then slowly nodded his head. Flack smiled and came over and pulled it over Oscar's head and pushed his arms through the sleeves.

"You gonna punish me?" Oscar asked quietly as he stood in Flack's t-shirt, looking more like he was wearing a dress.

"Punish you?" Flack scoffed. "Why would I punish you?"

"For being bad..." Oscar said timidly.

"Hey, Oscar, you haven't done anything wrong, okay?"

Oscar slowly nodded his head and then looked down at his feet, fiddling with his hands. Flack looked worriedly at the boy wondering what kind of punishment a mother would give her five year old for wetting the bed.

"Right, buddy, you hop up here and lie down, I'm just gonna clean up your clothes," Flack stated as he lifted Oscar onto his bed.

"I can sleep in your bed?" Oscar asked.

"Sure thing," Flack smiled as he left the room and went to the lounge.

He turned on the light and then went over to the air bed. The sheet and blanket were completely sopping wet and Mister Mittens was damp too. 'Poor kid,' Flack thought as he collected up the wet items and then got the ones from the bathroom and placed them all into a plastic bag. He'd take them down to the laundry room in the morning. Flack then gave the air bed a wipe and opened the nozzle to let it deflate, deciding to clean it more thoroughly in the morning. Then he went back to the bedroom and saw Oscar waiting for him, snuggled under the sheets. He flinched slightly as Flack entered the room.

"Are you cross with me?" he asked quietly.

"Not at all," Flack replied as he crossed the room and got into bed beside his son.

Oscar turned so he was facing Flack and watched him carefully.

"I want Mister Mittens," he finally said.

"Sorry, buddy, Mister Mittens got a bit wet so he's had to go for a wash tonight," Flack said regretfully.

"But I can't sleep without him," Oscar said sadly.

"Well how about you try tonight real hard, and I promise he'll be back by tomorrow night," Flack said reassuringly.

"Where's your teddy?" Oscar suddenly said, looking around the bed.

"I don't have one," Flack said as he lay down.

"But don't you get lonely?" asked Oscar worriedly.

"Sometimes. But I got you here now," Flack smiled as he faced Oscar and closed his eyes. His body relaxed into the bed even though his mind was still racing. Bed wetting, he didn't even know where to start with that. How common was it in kids? And why did they even do it? How were you supposed to stop it? And why was Oscar so scared that he'd be mad? Did Devon really punish him for wetting his bed? Suddenly Flack felt something small prod into his cheek and he realised Oscar was touching his face. He felt the tiny hands stroke over his cheeks, squeeze his nose, brush gently over his eyelids and trace along the line of his eyebrows.

"What you doing there, buddy?" Flack asked as he opened his eyes.

"Do I look like you?" Oscar asked.

Flack chuckled, he had no idea where that question had come from. Presumably Oscar had been staring at him as he'd tried to go to sleep.

"A bit," Flack replied.

"You're all wrinkly," Oscar stated.

Flack laughed loudly. "Go to sleep, Oscar."

"I can't without Mister Mittens!" the little boy whined.

Flack sighed and then reached out an arm and pulled Oscar towards him. "Well how 'bout just for tonight you pretend I'm Mister Mittens?" Flack murmured.

"Mmm...okay," Oscar sighed. "But only tonight," he told Flack and then he snuggled in close to Flack's body while Flack wrapped his arms around the little boy protectively and hugged him close. All of a sudden within twenty-four hours this little person had become the most precious thing in the world to him and it made his emotions feel all over the place. He cared more for this little boy in this moment than any woman he'd been with in his entire life. He wondered if maybe that was what love truly was about, though he wasn't sure. He didn't even know if he could love another person within less than a day, even if they were his son. But whatever it was he felt it was unconditional, of that much he was sure.

"Night Oscar," he muttered, gently pressing a kiss to the top if the boy's head.

Flack closed his eyes and heard Oscar whine in his sleep.

"Night Daddy," squeaked a tiny voice into his chest.

Flack felt himself choke on the lump in his throat and cuddled his son closer towards him, never wanting to let him go.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N - Thank you so much to all who review, you really make my day. Here's another chapter, let me know what you think.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Flack felt himself slowly awaken to something tickling his nose. It was annoying and itchy so he exhaled, sniffed and then sleepily swatted a hand at it. He was distantly aware of the quiet giggling and reluctantly pulled his eyes open to see the smiling face of his son right above him. He jumped, and then groaned at the sharp movement. Oscar had perched himself on his stomach and was leaning over and poking a finger into the side of his nose.

"Daddy...Daddy...wake up, it's light now...we gotta get up!" he squeaked cheerfully.

"Urgh..." Flack groaned as he closed his eyes against the bright light and eager little boy.

"No, Daddy, that's going back to sleep. You got it wrong!" Oscar giggled.

Flack groaned for a third time and then glanced at the bedside clock which was cheerily stating the fact that it was 5.47am.

"Oscar, it's not even six yet. Let Daddy just have ten minutes more," Flack grunted and then closed his eyes.

"Okay Daddy, I make breakfast," Oscar said excitedly.

He poked at Flack's nose twice more and then slid from his stomach and his small weight disappeared from the bed. Flack murmured happily and then rolled over and started drifting off to sleep. Suddenly his eyes shot open as his brain caught up with events. Breakfast?

"Oscar?" Flack shouted as he begrudgingly pulled the covers off himself and clambered out of the bed. He wobbled over to the door, still half asleep, and stumbled his way to the kitchen.

"Daddy!" squeaked Oscar excitedly when he saw him. He was stood on a dinning chair that he'd managed to drag into the kitchen. All the cupboards were open and random items of food were set out on the side.

"What you doing there, buddy?" Flack asked as he came forward and lifted Oscar down to the floor.

"I was making breakfast," Oscar stated looking a bit disgruntled.

"How about I make breakfast and you lay the table?" Flack asked as he put the dinning chair back under the table.

"But I help you!" Oscar said, jumping up and down.

"Okay buddy, you can help too," Flack sighed. He wasn't usually a morning person. "So what do you want?"

"Ice-cream!" shouted Oscar bouncing around in a circle around Flack.

"Just like Messer in the mornings," Flack grumbled under his breath as he attempted to move and put the coffee on.

"Cereal and ice-cream!" Oscar shouted, continuing to dance round Flack like a Red Indian chanting round his camp fire.

"Calm down!" Flack sighed in exasperation.

"Daddy, why are you grumpy?" Oscar asked as he stopped and looked up at Flack.

"I'm not, I just take a little longer than you to wake up," Flack explained as he went and turned on the coffee machine. "You want some juice for breakfast?"

"Juice juice, nice with moose," Oscar sang and then paused, frowning. "No wait, I got it wrong."

"Come on, buddy," Flack chuckled. "Sit up here and eat your cereal," he said as he placed a bowl down on the table.

Oscar hopped up onto the chair and began eating his cereal while Flack placed a glass of orange juice down beside him. Flack then grabbed his coffee and toast and sat down beside him. Oscar smiled up at him, bits of chewed up cereal visible and Flack sighed.

"You gotta keep your mouth closed when you eat, buddy," he muttered.

"Sorry," Oscar mumbled and quickly closed his mouth and began chewing very carefully, a look of concentration on his face.

"So Oscar, I wanted to ask you something," Flack stated as he took a banana from the fruit bowl in the middle of the table.

"What is it, Daddy?" asked Oscar.

"Well, you know that thing that happened last night, does that... err...happen every night?" Flack asked a little awkwardly.

Oscar's little face immediately dropped and a sad expression crossed his features. Flack felt bad for bringing it up.

"Not every night," Oscar said carefully, letting out a big sigh. "Only when things are scary...but lots of things are scary," he admitted.

"Well yesterday was quite a big day, wasn't it?" Flack nodded understandingly.

"Yeah, I guess so," Oscar mumbled, prodding at his soggy cereal with the spoon. "I promise I won't do it again," he sniffed.

"Hey, that's okay, buddy. I know you can't help it. We'll get it sorted," Flack smiled as he put an arm around his son and patted his back reassuringly.

"So what will we do today?" Oscar asked as he splattered the spoon down into the bowl and spots of milk flew everywhere making him giggle.

"You're a messy one, aren't you?!" Flack sighed as he watched Oscar playing with his food. "I thought we could go down to the shops and get you a bed and maybe a few more clothes, does that sound okay?"

Oscar tilted his head in thought and the nodded excitedly. "Okay!" he grinned.

"And we can drop Mister Mittens off at the laundrette so he can take his bath ready for tonight," Flack smiled.

"Yes!" Oscar stated definitely and then finished up his juice while Flack stood and began to tidy the plates up.

"Daddy?" Oscar asked, staring at his father.

"Hmmm?" Flack hummed as he turned around from the sink.

"Why do you sleep in your knickers?" the little boy asked innocently.

Flack was certain he blushed, despite no-one else hearing the question and then he coughed awkwardly. "Come on, let's get ready to go out, Oscar."

"Okay," Oscar smiled as he followed Flack down to the bathroom.

Flack poured Oscar another bath and helped wash him again to make sure he was clean from the night's incident. Then he helped dress the little boy back in his clothes and let him watch the TV whilst he had his own shower and got dressed. Oscar seemed content with watching the TV so Flack decided his take the opportunity to give Lovato a call. She was supposed to be coming round that evening as it was a year since they'd started dating. Flack sighed as he got her voicemail and decided to leave a message.

"Hey, Jamie. It's Flack. I wanted to know if you're still coming round tonight cos if you are I'll cook something special..." he sighed as he realised he'd probably have to mention something about Oscar. "I guess you've probably heard by now about Oscar but we can still do something just spend the evening together...let me know."

He hung up and then went into the lounge to see Oscar when there was a knock on the door. Flack frowned, he hadn't been expecting anyone and Oscar looked quite scared.

"Don't worry, buddy. It's probably just a neighbour or one of my friends," Flack smiled as he opened the door.

"Hey, Flack," smiled the pretty woman standing there.

"Lindsay!" Flack grinned and opened the door wide for her to push the pram in. "And you brought the Joshster too!"

"Flack, his name is Josh!" Lindsay sighed in amusement as she wheeled the pram into the lounge area and then turned to the tall detective. "How are you?" she asked, giving him a big hug.

"Been better to be honest," Flack shrugged as he looked past her to the couch. It was devoid of any little boys.

"Danny told me all about it when he got home last night," Lindsay nodded. "Where is he?" she asked.

"I dunno, he was watching TV," Flack sighed as he turned around and looked down the hallway. "Oscar?" he shouted.

There was no reply except the noise of the little baby waking in the pram.

"Has anyone ever told you not to yell in front of sleeping babies, Flack?" Lindsay muttered in exasperation as she picked up her son and started to rock him gently.

"Oops," Flack muttered bashfully. "Here, let me?" he asked, holding his arms out to take baby Josh.

Lindsay passed her son to Flack and then sat down. "He had me up at six this morning so after Danny took Lucy to school we thought we'd pop round here and say hi."

"I appreciate that," Flack stated as he rocked Josh in his arms and made stupid faces at him. "Hey there, buddy, who's a cute baby boy then?" he chuckled.

"You know if there's anything Danny and I can do to help..." Lindsay said as she took off her jacket.

"Thanks, Linds," Flack nodded. "But right now I just have no idea what's going on."

"Is he hiding because of me?" Lindsay asked, looking up at the hallway.

"He's kinda shy," Flack nodded. "Oscar, there's someone I'd like you to meet," Flack said down the hallway in a softer tone due to Josh being in his arms.

There was absolutely no sound from any of the rooms.

"Bah..." Josh made an incoherent sound and grinned in Flack's arms.

"Hey Joshster, you like grinning at your god-daddy, don't ya?" Flack chuckled, grinning back at the baby as Lindsay watched him. She felt annoyed that Devon had already deprived Flack of five years with his son. Flack was great with babies, he had been with Lucy and was with Josh too and she was sure he would have been with Oscar, had he been given the chance.

She suddenly looked up and couldn't help but gasp at the little boy stood nervously behind the couch, staring up at Flack while he played with Josh.

"Flack," she murmured and he spun around.

"Oscar, there you are," Flack smiled and passed Josh back to Lindsay. "Come over here and say hi."

Oscar stared but didn't move from his spot behind the couch. His gaze flickered between Josh and Flack a few times and then he took a step back.

"Woah, come on buddy," Flack said nervously, not wanting to look like an idiot in front of Lindsay. "This is Lindsay and Josh they're friends of mine."

Oscar turned and stared at Lindsay for a moment before finally stepping forward but keeping well clear of the two Messers and finally coming to a halt behind his father's legs. His two little hands wrapped around Flack's left knee and he peeped out from round the side of his legs.

"You gonna say hi?" Flack asked, turning awkwardly so he could see his son.

"Hi, Oscar, I'm Lindsay," Lindsay said softly as she smiled at the very timid little boy.

Oscar hid his face into the back of Flack's jeans and Lindsay smiled at Flack. He shrugged and then once again turned awkwardly to try and see Oscar.

"Hey, Osc?" he said gently.

Oscar looked up at him and then took a huge breath. "Is she your girlfriend?" he finally asked.

Lindsay laughed quietly to herself while Flack shook his head. "Nah, she's just my friend. She's married to my best friend, Danny."

"Oh," Oscar said and then peeped back round at Lindsay. "Hi," he said quickly and then hid behind Flack again.

Lindsay stood up and placed Josh back down in the pram, giving him his blue bear to chew on, before coming forward and kneeling down the other side of Flack's legs.

"Josh is my son and I have a daughter too who is your age," she said kindly, attempting to coax Oscar out from his place almost between Flack's legs.

Flack shook his head and felt rather useless just standing there like an incredibly tall, man shaped wall.

"I'm five," squeaked Oscar from behind his legs.

"Lucy is five in four months time," Lindsay replied. "She likes playing with toys. Do you like playing with toys?" she asked patiently.

"Mister Mittens is having a bath," squeaked Oscar, half of his face reappearing from behind Flack's left leg.

"Well that's alright because Lucy said I could bring some old toys she didn't want with me for you to have," Lindsay smiled.

"Linds..." Flack murmured, a huge sense of gratitude weighing on him.

"For keeps?" Oscar asked as he finally took a step out from his hiding place.

"If you want," Lindsay nodded.

Oscar furrowed his brow as he thought and then gently tugged on Flack's jeans.

"What is it, buddy?" Flack asked, smiling down at him.

"Can I keep them?" Oscar asked worriedly.

"Sure you can," Flack grinned.

Oscar smiled and then finally came out all the way from behind Flack and stood in front of Lindsay.

"Thank you, Lindsay," he said shyly, fiddling with his hands.

"That's alright," Lindsay laughed as she stood and took a bag out from underneath Josh's pram. "Here you go," she said, giving it to Oscar.

Oscar grinned and then sat down on the floor and looking into the bag. He stuck a hand in and pulled out an old Barbie doll with no clothes on and messy hair.

"Barbie? You seriously just gave my son a Barbie?" Flack said crossly as he frowned at Lindsay.

Lindsay laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "It was Lucy," she excused.

Flack sighed in exasperation. "Hey, you want some coffee?" he asked going to the kitchen area.

"Sure," Lindsay replied and followed him over.

Oscar pulled out the next item which was a furry blue teddy with only one ear. He grinned at it as he hugged it.

"Wow, Flack...just wow," Lindsay murmured as she sat down at the table and watched the little boy. "I don't think there can be any question of paternity. He looks exactly like you," she said in amazement.

"I know," Flack muttered as he took out two mugs and waited for the coffee machine.

"You'll be fine, Flack," Lindsay said reassuringly as she stood and placed a hand on his arm, squeezing it gently.

"I have no idea what I'm doing here, Linds," Flack said under his breath .

"No-one does," Lindsay said comfortingly. "I had no idea what I was doing when I had Lucy and you really think Danny did?"

Flack snorted in amusement. "Yeah, but Luce was just a baby. Oscar is like a proper little person. I dunno what to do with him. He's scared of everything and I know he just wants to go home to his Mum."

"Only because he hasn't known any different, Flack. All he's ever known is his Mum. But she left him, she left him with a stranger and disappeared to somewhere not even the police can find her. And now he's scared, he's alone, he's unsure of everything and everyone around him. He needs love, Flack, that's what he needs and you looking after him like this will eventually enable him to trust you. But that will take time and you'll just have to be patient."

"But I'm scared too, Linds," Flack muttered. "I'm scared I'm going to mess this up so badly I'll..."

"Don't think like that," Lindsay urged. "I thought I'd be a terrible mother, I remember Stella having to reassure me. You just learn, it's about learning all the time and not pretending you're perfect. Just care for him, Flack, and love him."

Flack nodded and sighed as he then poured out two cups of coffee and gave one to Lindsay.

"He still wets the bed," Flack murmured as they sat down and his eyes drifted over to where Oscar was playing happily with the naked Barbie, one-eared bear and a batmobile."

"Danny gave Lucy that in an attempt to get her into Batman. She hated it," Lindsay smiled. "And bedwetting isn't really that uncommon. It'll go away once he realises he's safe with you."

"I hope so," Flack sighed. "You know all he had on him was the clothes he was wearing, his teddy, a book, a toothbrush and one set of pyjamas?"

"Oh, Flack," Lindsay sighed.

"It makes me mad," Flack hissed quietly. "Not only did Devon hide the fact I had a son for so long but she treated him abysmally and then deserted him. He said she just goes out and leaves him alone in the house all day."

"What?" Lindsay gasped in disbelief.

"Yeah, he got bullied at school and he hit the bully and got expelled. No-one believed him. What am I going to do Linds? Hitting other kids is wrong, I know that, but I also know I would've done the same at his age."

"Just teach him that, Flack. You're a cop, you know right from wrong."

"And what about school? I don't know anything about schools!" Flack exclaimed, feeling like his head was about to explode.

"Flack, calm down!" Lindsay said gently as she reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'll jot down the number of Lucy's school and you can give them a call. Say that you know us and you'll be fine. They love Lucy there."

Flack stared for a moment and then hugged her. "Thank you so much, Linds," he said gratefully.

"Don't worry Flack. We're all here for you, and I think Jo and Sid are going back to Devon's apartment today to see if they can find anything of Oscar's. Danny said it was pretty bare but you never know."

"God, Linds...you guys...what would I do without you?" Flack asked.

"You'd be fine," Lindsay smiled.

Just then Joshua started screaming loudly and the two adults looked up to see Oscar standing next to the pram, hands behind his back and looking guilty.

"Oscar?" Flack said as he stood up. "Oscar, what have you done?"

"N...nn..nothing..." Oscar stammered as Flack stormed over to him.

Lindsay followed at a distance and went to Josh picking him up and cuddling him to her chest gently rocking him.

"What did you do?" Flack repeated and then stared into the pram and back at Oscar. "Did you take Josh's bear?!"

"M'sorry, I just wanted a look, I didn't mean to make him cry...I just..."

"Oscar, you can't take other people's stuff!" Flack yelled, worried of what Lindsay might think of his son. "Lindsay just gave you all these toys and you still try and take the one that doesn't belong to you!"

"I wasn't taking, I just looking!" Oscar cried as he held out the blue bear.

"You apologise right now!" Flack yelled. "You don't steal things!"

Oscar stared for a moment from behind his tear stained face and then suddenly threw the blue bear hard at Flack. It bounced off his chest and fell to the floor.

"I hate you, I hate you!" shouted Oscar as he ran away. "I want my Mummy. I want Mummy!"

Flack stood in dumb silence for a moment before wiping a hand down his face and then turning to look at Lindsay who was still trying to calm Josh.

"Shit..." Flack muttered helplessly.

"Go after him," Lindsay hissed and then carried on rocking her son.

Flack sighed and nodded, before plodding down the hallway in search of Oscar. He poked his head in the bathroom and spare room, even though he had a pretty good idea of where he might find the little boy. Sure enough as Flack entered his bedroom he could hear crying and sniffling coming from his closet. Oscar was once again hidden inbetween his sweaters and t-shirts at the bottom of the closet, crying his eyes out.

"Oscar?" Flack murmured as he sat down and crossed his legs.

"Go away!" Oscar cried, without even looking up or removing his face from where it was buried in Flack's clothes.

"Oscar, look buddy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you," Flack mumbled feebly.

"Go away I hate you!" Oscar cried.

"Look, I know you don't mean that, buddy and I really am sorry," Flack said, feeling dreadful.

"You didn't believe me. I wasn't stealing I just wanted to look. You said I was telling lies!"

Flack stared in horror as he remembered Oscar saying how no-one believed him when he told his Mum and teachers about getting bullied. Flack had felt so angry at that and now he had done the very same thing himself. Jumped to conclusions instead of believing his son and trusting him. If he didn't trust Oscar then how would the little boy ever learn to trust him back? Flack wanted to kick himself hard in the head. What an idiot! But he'd been worried about what Lindsay would think; Lucy was such a well behaved little girl. Then again, Oscar had never done anything for him to doubt his words; in fact Oscar seemed like a very truthful little boy. Flack had never hated himself more than in that moment as he listened to his son's cries and felt his heart break, knowing that he had caused them.

"Oscar, look at me, will ya?" Flack asked softly as he crawled towards the little boy.

"No, I hate you, I want Mummy," Oscar sobbed.

Flack gently took hold of his son and attempted to lift him from the closet but Oscar immediately started struggling and hit out with his arms and legs.

"Let go, let go, I want my Mummy!" he wept.

"Oscar, if you just come out...Oof..." Flack gasped as Oscar's foot connected with his stomach and completely winded him. Flack fell back while Oscar curled up in the clothes again.

Flack sat on the floor, stunned and then slowly got up, gasping for breath and made his way back to the lounge.

"Well?" Lindsay asked, looking up from the pram where Josh lay, sleeping happily with his bear.

"He won't stop crying. I don't know what to do," Flack muttered.

"Flack, you get back in that room and you do not come out again until he's stopped crying!" Lindsay yelled at Flack.

Flack trembled slightly at her wrath and then took a step backwards.

"He is your son, Flack, so go act like a father!" Lindsay said crossly and Flack was suddenly aware of why Danny was so scared of her sometimes.

He almost fled back to the bedroom and then softly padded back to the closet where Oscar was still crying but not to such a degree of intensity as before.

"Oscar, buddy?" Flack mumbled. "Look, I do believe you. I promise. I know you'd never steal anything. I was wrong to accuse you."

The crying started to get quieter but Oscar still didn't look at him.

"I know that you having to live with me for a bit instead of with your Mum needs you to trust me a lot. And if I don't trust you too it won't work," Flack mumbled on helplessly. He wasn't even sure if Oscar would understand what he was saying. But he had nothing else. "I know you were telling the truth. I am sorry."

Oscar's cries finally ceased and Flack watched as the little boy's back juddered as he tried to catch his breath back.

"Oscar, please look at me?" Flack asked solemnly, upset that he'd already managed to ruin their fragile bond.

"You don't like me," Oscar finally squeaked. "You like Josh. You prefer him. You wish you were Josh's Daddy. You don't want me here."

Flack's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Oscar, I..."

"I'll go home and stay there till Mummy comes back. I don't want to live with you."

Flack swallowed as he felt like he might almost cry himself. His chest was tight and his heart physically ached from the pain he'd caused the little boy. Flack suddenly made up his mind and crawled forward again and grabbed his son by the waist and pulled him free from the clothes. Oscar immediately struggled and whined, but didn't try to kick out as much and eventually let Flack drag him from the closet. Flack held Oscar to him and wrapped his arms around the little boy's body, cradling him to his chest and rocking him, almost as Lindsay had done with baby Josh. Oscar cried into Flack's chest and held on around his neck with his thin arms. The floor was hard under Flack's ass and his clothes were strewn all around the place but he didn't care, all he cared about was Oscar.

"Oscar, you're my son and I'm so happy that you are. I couldn't wish for a better one. All I wish is that I had known you since you were born," Flack stated definitely.

"I want Mummy," Oscar sobbed gently, rubbing his face against Flack's chest and in doing so wiping his nose on his father's t-shirt.

"I know you do, buddy," Flack muttered as he held on to Oscar as if his life depended on it. "But you got Daddy and he's never gonna let you go. Never ever ever..."

Flack waited patiently for Oscar to calm down and held him close the whole time. He eventually felt the little boy's grip tighten around him as he clung on and felt a wave of relief wash through him. A creak of the floor caught his attention and he looked up to see Lindsay smiling at him from the doorway. Flack smiled back and then kissed the top of Oscar's head. He had no idea what was happening inside him. His heart hurt like he'd been stabbed in it, he felt sick with worry, angry with himself, upset as if he was going to cry but above all else he felt something he hadn't felt for a very long time. Love. And Flack knew that he was very quickly falling in love with his son.

* * *

A/N – I dunno what time the sun rises in New York in January I'm guessing it's later than what I said but honestly, who cares?

Also can someone American let me know if Oscar is born September 8th 2008 and Lucy is born May 6th 2009, would they be in the same school year or would Oscar be in the year above?


	7. Chapter 7

A/N - Woop Chris Froome Woop... celebrating sportsmen with more chapters of stories aha!

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Flack held onto Oscar for as long as he'd needed to, until the little boy had worn himself out with crying and had fallen asleep against Flack's body. Even then Flack didn't let go but clung onto his son, wanting to always protect him from hurt and harm. He just sat there, gently rocking and cradling Oscar against him, nuzzling his face into his hair and breathing in his smell. Eventually it was Lindsay who had to come and make Flack move, knowing from personal experience that the two Flack boys couldn't stay in that position forever. Flack reluctantly agreed and laid the little boy down carefully in his bed, covering him up with the sheets. He stroked a hand across Oscar's face brushing a few curls out of the way and then he grudgingly left the room.

"You just never want to let them go, do you?" Lindsay smiled knowingly as she saw Flack come into the lounge.

"God Linds...when he cried..." Flack mumbled. "It just hurts so much."

"That's cos you love him, Flack," Lindsay nodded, looking at her own little boy as she spoke.

"How can I love him? I've barely known him for a day," Flack snorted derisively.

"He's you son, Flack. That kind of love is unconditional. You'll love him forever now, and I'm betting it started the moment you first laid eyes on him," Lindsay replied.

"What?" Flack gulped. He could feel the perspiration dripping down his back as he all of a sudden felt terribly hot...and nervous too.

"Flack, this is normal. Don't be so scared," Lindsay chuckled.

"But I am scared," Flack said, swallowing nervously.

Lindsay came over and gave him a big hug. "Don't be. It'll be fine, just you wait."

Flack hugged her back, using her body as a rock of reassurance for himself. "I hope you're right, Linds," he muttered.

"I am," Lindsay laughed as she pulled back and went to get the pram with her sleeping son inside it. "Just ask Danny."

Flack finally smiled and then opened the door for her. "You want a hand with the pram down the stairs?" he asked kindly.

"I'll be fine," Lindsay replied. "You just take care of that little boy in there."

"Thanks, Linds," Flack sighed and then closed his door.

The apartment was silent. He slowly padded back to his bedroom and peeped in through the crack in the door. Oscar was still asleep, exhausted from crying so extensively. Flack found he couldn't tear his eyes away and simply watched for a good long while. He had a sudden need within himself to rush over and grab the little boy and hug him so tight... Flack shook his head and then left. He went into his spare room and stared round at the boxes. There was a task to be done, and he was going to make the small room the best kid's bedroom in the world. Oscar deserved that.

It was lunchtime when Flack finally took a break from sorting through his boxes and all the crap he'd stored up in his spare room over the years. He sat down on the floor and leant against a wall, feeling even sweatier than before. A little face peeping in through the door suddenly distracted him and he smiled.

"Hey there, buddy, feeling better?" Flack asked.

Oscar simply blinked his big blue eyes at Flack and the detective sighed.

"Okay well how about some lunch?" he said getting up and crossing the room to the door.

He went down the hall to the kitchen, a tiny figure in his wake and started making some peanut butter sandwiches and juice for Oscar. He noticed the little boy sliding into a chair at the table and waiting patiently, never speaking.

"Here ya go," Flack grinned as he placed the sandwich and juice down in front of Oscar. "You gonna talk to me?" he asked.

Oscar pouted his lips and then carefully took a sandwich and bit into it.

"Nope, thought not," Flack sighed as he stood up and watched as Oscar took a drink of his juice.

"Hey, Osc," Flack smiled, an idea coming to him. He waited for the little boy to look up at him.

"Umm," Flack coughed. "Mousse Mousse nice with Juice," Flack sung, holding his index fingers up at the sides of his head like antlers and wiggling them about. He waited with baited breath.

Oscar blinked again, his nose twitched and lips pouted. Then he smiled and went back to his sandwiches.

Flack grinned happily. He'd got a smile.

"Right well you stay here and eat, I'm gonna just change my t-shirt and then we can get ready to go out," Flack nodded.

He went to his room and sighed at all the clothes in a mess over his floor and closet. Then something caught his eye. An embarrassing t-shirt that Messer had bought him had been pulled out of his closet and he picked it up and grinned. It would be perfect. Flack sauntered casually back into the kitchen and gulped down his own sandwiches along with a cup of orange juice. He chuckled as he noticed Oscar staring.

"Goofy?" the little boy squeaked.

"Oh right...yeah," Flack said nonchalantly. "I'm a bit of a fan."

Oscar stared, eyes wide, as Flack carried on eating his sandwiches, all the while sneaking glances at his son. Oscar hesitatingly stood up and walked over to Flack, eyes never leaving the big Goofy face on the t-shirt. Flack smiled to himself and took a big gulp of his drink, his plan was working. Oscar slowly reached out and prodded a finger hard into the image of Goofy's face... which unfortunately coincided with Flack's stomach.

"Urghlll..." Flack coughed as juice spat from his mouth.

"Arrgh!" squeaked Oscar as he was showered in it.

"Oh..." Flack said as he held a hand to his stomach and looked down at his son.

"Daddy, that was yucky," Oscar said frowning up at Flack, juice dripping off his hair.

"Sorry," Flack sniggered, bemused by Oscar telling him off.

"I smell like rangies," Oscar said, a little frown appearing on his face.

"Rangies?" Flack chuckled. "Come on, time for another wash."

Oscar looked reluctant but slowly made his way to the bathroom and Flack followed, still laughing to himself. Yet again he poured another bath for Oscar and then bathed the small boy, cleaning off all the sticky orange juice. Oscar frowned the entire time, clearly not liking being covered in juice and spittle and liking having a bath even less.

"There we go, buddy," Flack said as he finished drying off Oscar. He helped him back into his jeans and t-shirt which were both still clean but his jumper was added to the bag of washing that needed to be done.

"Right, now we really need to go out and buy you some clothes," Flack stated as they went back to the lounge.

Flack helped Oscar on with his shoes and coat and then went to find his phone, wallet and keys.

"Don't forget your shoes, Daddy," Oscar said worriedly as he looked at Flack's feet.

"I won't," Flack smiled as he put on his boots and grabbed a coat from his closet. "Right, little man, you ready?"

"Mmhm," Oscar nodded and then they went out into the hallway, Flack grabbing the bag of laundry on the way.

The first stop they went to was the laundrette round the corner where Flack left his laundry for Jan Waffle, the owner, to do a service wash for him. He'd chuckled as Oscar had carefully stated that she should take care with Mister Mittens and Jan had promised she would. As they left Flack decided the subway would be quicker than the afternoon traffic and so they started down the sidewalk to the station. It was only a block over and the streets near his apartment weren't that crowded. He felt a little tug on his trouser leg and saw that Oscar was holding onto it with his hand as they walked. Flack grinned and then they went on their way.

"Where we going?" Oscar asked as they descended the steps into the underground station.

"We're getting on the subway," Flack replied. "You ever taken it before?" Flack asked.

"Mummy has cars," Oscar replied.

"Course she does," Flack muttered, rolling his eyes as he went and bought them two tickets. "This way."

They descended even further into the station and then waited on the platform. The electronic board said they had a minute to wait. Flack felt a tugging on his trousers and looked down to see Oscar standing very close to his side.

"It's dark down there," Oscar whispered as he looked towards the tunnels.

"That's just where the trains come from," Flack explained.

"Trains?" Oscar said wide-eyed.

"Yep, you ever been on a train?" Flack asked.

Oscar shook his head.

"It's quite exciting," Flack grinned.

Suddenly the wind whistled down the track as the noise of an approaching train could be heard and Flack felt Oscar move even closer to him. Then the train whooshed past, clattering wheels on the track and bright lights speeding by. Flack felt his leg being grabbed hold of and hugged tightly as the train started to pull to a stop.

"Hey, it's okay buddy," Flack soothed as he put a hand over Oscar's back. "It's just the train."

"Scary," Oscar murmured up at Flack.

"Trains are fun," insisted Flack as he started to walk towards the door, Oscar still wrapped around his leg.

The train was packed as they got on but Flack managed to find one seat so helped Oscar to sit in it while he stood close by, holding onto a ceiling rail.

"You sit there and I'll tell you when we gotta get off," Flack stated as he felt himself being slightly pushed by the other people that were still getting on.

Oscar only stared with his big blue eyes and then the train started beeping and he jumped.

"Daddy..." Oscar whimpered, looking around at the two people sat on either side of him and all the other faces squashed into the carriage.

"It's okay, buddy," Flack smiled reassuringly.

The train lurched as it started up again and everyone was jostled about and Flack felt himself being completely squashed between a large man on one side and a group of foreign students on the other. The large man smelt very bad and Flack had difficulty to stop himself from retching.

"Daddy!" Oscar cried as Flack disappeared from sight as the large man was pushed in front of him.

"Hey, I'm here," Flack said soothingly as he tried to get closer to Oscar again. The large man frowned crossly at him.

"Sorry," Flack apologised. "Just trying to get to my son."

"I can't move, mate," the large man stated.

"Daddy, where are you?!" Flack heard Oscar cry again.

"Look if you could just step to your right," Flack said in exasperation.

"No can do," the large man replied.

Flack frowned angrily. Commuters were so unfriendly, no-one was paying any attention to Oscar crying out for him or trying to help in any way and he felt rather irritated.

"Look, just move out of my way," Flack said irritably as he started pushing round the man.

"Stop being such an arsehole, mate. None of us can move anywhere," the large man retorted, completely blocking Flack's path and view of his son.

"Don't call me an arsehole," Flack shouted over the noise of the train. "I'm just trying to calm my son down, can't you hear him crying?"

"Not my problem," the large man shrugged. "You shouldn't have left him by himself. Only a bad father would do something like that."

"Daddy!" Oscar called again and Flack could hear the panic in his voice.

"I'm here, Oscar!" Flack called, trying to ignore the man's words. Was he a bad father? He shouldn't have left Oscar on the seat alone. Flack frowned angrily and then leant an arm around the large man. "Take my hand, Osc!" he shouted.

"Daddy!" Oscar cried, looking up at all the faces surrounding him. All the big people towering above him, staring down and he felt trapped.

"Take my hand!" Flack called again as he pushed himself up against the large man, ignoring the grumbling and the terrible stench coming from him.

He wiggled his fingers, grasping at air, hoping that Oscar was still where he'd put him and that he was safe. Oh God...what if there was some sort of paedophile on the train, or a kidnapper or even a murderer. Flack started feeling panicked. Oscar had been out of his sight for a good few minutes now and he could no longer hear him, the noise of the train and the foreign students laughing loudly and playing music was blocking every other sound out. Flack had seen so many dead children in his career and it always started with some careless incident, just a parent looking away for one second was all it took. Flack's heart was hammering in his chest as he tried to call again for Oscar but couldn't due to the bile rising in his throat. He was a terrible father, a really, really bad one who had just deserted his kid on a train! Suddenly he felt a tiny hand grasp his fingers and hold on tightly, squeezing them painfully together. Flack curled them round and held on tightly back for a few more minutes. Then the train lurched again and finally came to a stop at the next station. A few people filed out as the door opened and the large man stepped away, scowling at Flack and muttering under his breath.

"God, Oscar..." Flack cried as he ran forward and grabbed ahold of the tiny boy.

"Daddy!" Oscar squealed and held on around Flack's neck as he was picked up.

Flack collapsed back into the seat and held Oscar on his lap.

"Daddy, where were you?" Oscar asked worriedly. "I couldn't see you."

"I was just over there, buddy," Flack said, breathing quickly. "I'm so sorry, buddy."

"It's okay," Oscar said, hugging his Daddy tightly. "I was worried you got lost."

Flack paused in his breathing and then suddenly smiled against his son's neck. "You were worried about me?"

Oscar leant back so he could look at Flack's face. "You have to be careful. You can get lost when there are lots of people. That's what Mummy always says."

Flack tried very hard not to chuckle at Oscar's serious face. "I'm okay, buddy. I didn't get lost," Flack nodded.

Oscar didn't reply but simply hugged Flack again and his hand slowly moved to stroke over the Goofy picture on Flack's t-shirt that he could see under his open jacket.

Flack snuggled Oscar against him, so relieved that he was okay and unharmed. He was never going to take the little boy on the subway again. It was a terrible idea. What the hell had he been thinking when he'd said trains were fun? Twice he'd nearly been killed on the subway, once when he was mugged by two blokes with a knife and the other time when the train had nearly crashed into the one in front. If it hadn't been for Terrence and Danny then he, along with three of his colleagues, may not have lived to see the light of day. Flack shook his head at himself, trains weren't fun at all, they were murder!

Flack was more than happy when the train eventually arrived at their stop and he jumped up and almost ran off it, Oscar still held in his arms.

"Daddy, I can walk," Oscar pouted as Flack carried him up the stairs and through the barrier.

"Sorry," Flack chuckled and then put Oscar down.

"Daddy?" Oscar said as he looked up and down the street at all the people and tall buildings.

"Yep?" Flack asked, breathing in the air in an effort to try and relax. He was definitely hailing a cab for the journey home.

"I don't like trains," Oscar said decisively, frowning at Flack in an accusatory manner.

"Ya know what?" Flack chuckled. "Neither do I. Let's not do that again."

"Good," Oscar nodded.

"So where'd you wanna go first?" Flack asked as he turned to look up the street.

He felt a tiny hand close around his own and looked down to see Oscar holding his hand. Flack's heart leapt in delight.

"I don't wanna lose you again, Daddy," Oscar stated, looking at Flack in some concern.

"Then you better hold on tight," Flack nodded, thinking exactly the same thing about Oscar.

"That way you'll be safe," Oscar agreed, smiling happily.

Flack laughed and then started up the sidewalk with the little boy at his side, holding hands together.

"Simba!" Oscar suddenly said excitedly and started dragging Flack over to a store window.

"What's that?" Flack asked as he stared into the shop. It was the Disney Store.

"Daddy, it Simba. He goes rarrrghhhlll!" Oscar laughed, roaring at Flack.

"Oh does he now? Well we best go in and have a look," Flack nodded and they went into the store.

Oscar squealed in excitement at all the colourful items and toys surrounding them.

"Daddy, over here," he cried, pulling Flack in a million different directions at once.

"Whoa, slow down there, Speedy Gonzales," Flack chortled at the little boy's excitement.

"Mickey!" Oscar suddenly gasped as he saw a t-shirt with a big Mickey Mouse face on it.

"My friend, Messer, has one just like that," Flack nodded. "He got it when he went to Disneyworld with his daughter, Lucy. That's where I got my Goofy one from; he brought it back for me as a gift."

"Your friend met Mickey?" Oscar gasped in excitement.

"Err...I guess so," Flack shrugged. He frowned as he remembered Danny giving him the bag telling him he'd brought a gift back for him. He'd felt so excited to open it and then discovered the rubbish and highly embarrassing t-shirt inside. Danny had gone on to explain that while he was Mickey because he was clever, the ladies thought he was cute and Lindsay had a matching Minnie t-shirt. Flack was the tall, goofy sidekick who wasn't quite as intelligent so he had to be Goofy. Flack had clouted him one for that.

"I like Mickey," Oscar said excitedly and then looked up at Flack.

"Well then let's get it for you, shall we?" Flack smiled as he took one off the peg for children aged seven. Oscar would grow into it that way and it would last longer.

"Then we match!" Oscar said excitedly.

"Yeah, we will," Flack grinned.

"I like Goofy too," Oscar suddenly said and turned and hugged Flack.

"Good," Flack grinned. "Cos I like him as well."

Oscar smiled and then pulled Flack over to the cuddly toys.

"Ristycats," Oscar yelled, pulling Flack along.

"The Aristocats," Flack read and then chuckled.

"I like kittys," Oscar smiled as he looked through the toys and then squealed again and pulled Flack across to another stand.

"TIGGER!" Oscar shouted and began bouncing around.

"Whoa, yeah it's Tigger," Flack muttered, blushing as other parents and store workers stared over at him and Oscar.

"They just love the Disney," one lady laughed to him as she gestured to her daughter who was squealing at a Nemo fish.

"Err...yeah..." Flack replied, starting to feeling out of his depth.

"Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy," Oscar was saying excitedly as he jumped around, holding a Tigger stuffed toy.

"Hey, Osc," Flack called. "How about we get you Tigger then as well?"

"As well?" Oscar gasped. "But we getting the t-shirt, Daddy."

"Well we can get both. And I think maybe we can get a DVD too, how does that sound?" Flack grinned.

"Daddy!" Oscar squealed and then hugged Flack as tightly as he could.

"Which one do you want then?" Flack asked as he was dragged over to the stands of DVDs.

"Winnie the Pooh!" Oscar shrieked as he pointed to it and Flack took it off the shelf and passed it to him.

"I like Winnie the Pooh!" Oscar stated as he grinned up at Flack.

Flack felt his heart melt at the huge smile on Oscar's face and look of utter happiness. It was the first time Oscar had looked really happy since Devon had left him at his door.

"Right then, well we'll get these three things and then we better go to a department store and get you some stuff for your room," Flack replied.

"My room?" Oscar gasped.

"Yep. I've been clearing it out this morning," Flack nodded.

"But then I don't get to sleep with you," Oscar said sadly.

"Well that's okay cos you can have your own bed, like a grown up. I'm sure you did at your Mum's place?" Flack asked.

Oscar thought about it for a moment. "Well I shared with Mister Mittens," he stated slowly.

"Well that's fine. Mister Mittens and Tigger can sleep in your room too," Flack stated.

"But you'll get lonely," Oscar said sadly.

"I'll be okay," Flack replied.

"Hmmm, maybe I'll lend you Flack sometime," Oscar smiled.

"What?" Flack frowned in confusion. "Who's Flack?"

"My blue bear with one ear that your friend gave me," Oscar stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I called him Flack."

"Why?" Flack asked, still highly confused.

"Because he told me he lost his ear in a fight with a big wolf so he must be really brave. And you're really brave too," Oscar replied.

Flack found he was lost for words. Oscar had named his teddy bear after him and as ridiculous as it seemed, he had never felt so proud.

"Thanks, Osc," Flack gushed as he knelt and hugged the little boy.

"That's okay, Daddy," squeaked Oscar. "You look a bit like him too."

Flack laughed loudly in amusement and kissed the top of his son's head affectionately. Lindsay was right, he did love Oscar and now he just had to wait and hope that one day Oscar might feel the same about him.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N – Apologies for an update delay, my sister has been visiting me!

I'm not too fond of this chapter, don't think it's as strong as the others myself.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Flack pushed the front door of his apartment open awkwardly and then squashed himself through the door with the many bags and parcels he was carrying. There were rolls of wallpaper, tins of paint, the items from the Disney store, more toys, three duvet sets and numerous clothes along with the bag of laundry. Oscar skipped in after him and bounced his way to the couch.

"Come on, Daddy, hurry up," he said excitedly as Flack attempted to close the door with a foot and then make his way over, dumping all the bags and other items on the floor nearby.

"I think I've died!" he muttered exhaustedly as he collapsed back onto the couch and closed his eyes.

"No! Daddy!" Oscar shouted and then jumped onto his lap and prodded his face.

"Oof!" Flack moaned and opened his eyes.

"You're alive," Oscar grinned, still prodding a finger into Flack's cheek.

"It's alive..." Flack said in a spooky voice and then grabbed his son and began to tickle him.

"No, Daddy, no. It tickles!" Oscar laughed as he tried to squirm away.

Flack grinned at his son happily laughing and for the first time genuinely felt proud that he had fathered this wonderful, tiny person, despite not really having done anything in the way of raising him or affecting his personality. But Oscar was so sweet and kind-hearted despite having what seemed like a rough time of it with his Mum. Flack was proud his son had still turned out to be a good person.

"Daddy, where is Mister Mittens?" Oscar asked as he slid down Flack's legs to the floor and began poking about in the bags.

"That one there," Flack replied, pointing to the laundry bag.

Oscar opened it excitedly and pulled out the cat.

"Mister Mittens!" he shouted in glee and then hugged the animal tightly to him. "Mister Mittens said he didn't like his bath very much," Oscar frowned as he looked back up at Flack in an accusatory manner.

"Daddy!" Oscar shouted as he noticed Flack had closed his eyes again. "Daddy, it's not sleepy time, it's still light," he giggled and sat down by Flack's feet.

Flack groaned but didn't open his eyes. Oscar frowned and the carefully placing his cat by his side, he pulled off Flack's shoes and put them neatly by the couch.

"What you doing, Osc?" Flack asked, eyes still closed.

"You have big feet," Oscar replied and then reached out with his tiny hands and began tickling Flack's toes.

"Hey!" Flack yelped, eyes shooting open and moving his feet out of the way.

"Tickles!" Oscar giggled and then cuddled his cat again.

"Alright, monster," Flack sighed. He guessed he was never going be able to get much rest until Oscar was grown up now. And that thought scared him slightly. "I'm gonna put some dinner on. You play with your new toys if you like."

Flack picked up the bags that weren't for Oscar and then took them to the spare room and left them in there. Then he checked his messages on his home phone. There was nothing from Lovato, one from Jo saying she would pop by tomorrow afternoon and finally one from Lindsay saying she had rung Lucy's school and got them an appointment with the headmaster for the next morning. Flack smiled gratefully at the phone and made a mental note to thank Lindsay next time he saw her. Then he headed to the kitchen and began to make up some chicken with mashed potatoes and cauliflower, all the things that Oscar had said he liked best. It wasn't a difficult meal and only took Flack twenty minutes to prepare. He could hear Oscar's high pitched squeaking in the background as he played with his toys and that made Flack smile.

He glanced behind himself and saw that Oscar had got Tigger out of a bag, a stuffed toy version of the fat Officer Cockles from BirdyWordys and the Ken doll that Flack had been forced to buy for him. Oscar had said his Barbie needed a Ken and that he wanted to get the policeman Ken because it looked like Flack. Flack frowned as he remembered the hot shop assistant that had walked past at that point and laughed at him. Policeman Ken had blonde hair and he definitely did not. If anything it looked more like Messer. In the end he'd got it, discovering he was starting to find it impossible to say no to Oscar's pouting face. So policeman Ken was added to the bags and was now sat on the couch with Flack Bear, Officer Cockles, the naked Barbie and the Batmobile. Flack shook his head and then took out his phone to text Lovato to see if she was still planning on coming round that evening. He'd heard nothing from her all day.

"What you doing, Daddy?" Oscar asked as he suddenly appeared next to Flack.

"Just texting someone," Flack replied, putting his phone away.

"A girl?" Oscar asked, taking Flack by surprise.

"Um, yeah," he replied rather awkwardly.

"Is she pretty?" Oscar asked as fiddled with his hands.

"Very," Flack replied, smiling happily.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Oscar asked solemnly.

"Yeah...yes she is," Flack nodded.

Oscar frowned slightly. "Why doesn't she live here with you then?" he asked.

"Well I hope that maybe she will soon," Flack replied.

"If she moves in do I gotta move out?" Oscar asked slowly as he looked up at Flack, big blue eyes looking a little sad.

"No, of course not buddy," the detective said in astonishment as he knelt down to be on eye level with Oscar.

"Cos Mummy said I would have to move out if her boyfriends moved in. She said I gotta go to bordy school."

Flack pursed his lips tightly to stop himself from saying anything rude. Obviously Devon had been thinking about getting rid of Oscar for a while now and when he'd bumped into her outside the club she'd taken the opportunity to finally get what she wanted.

"Oscar," Flack stated sincerely. "I will never make you move out of my apartment, okay? It's your home now just as it is mine and you come first. Yeah?"

"I come first?" Oscar repeated as he placed a tiny hand on one of Flack's bent knees and played with it.

"Yes. Cos you're my son and we gotta stick together," Flack nodded.

"Like glue?" Oscar asked as he moved his hand to take hold of Flack's by the thumb.

"Yep, like sticky glue," Flack smiled as he watched the little boy play with his hand and trace the lines of it with a finger tip.

"I like glue, it makes a mess," Oscar said, smiling slightly.

"You like making a mess, don't you?" Flack chuckled.

"Daddy, you make mess too, remember?" Oscar frowned and he looked up and then pointed to his own hair.

"Yeah, I do," Flack grinned as he remembered accidently spitting his orange juice all over Oscar earlier in the day.

"Goofy!" Oscar suddenly yelled and prodded at the face on Flack's t-shirt again.

"Come on you, we still got ten minutes before dinner," Flack chuckled and took Oscar back to the couch and sat down.

"Daddy will you play?" Oscar asked as he sat down on the floor and crossed his legs, picking up Tigger in one hand and Mister Mittens in the other.

Flack looked awkwardly at the toys. "Um, sure. I...errr...I'm not very good."

"You can be Flack Bear," Oscar stated, ignoring Flack's excuses and shoving the one-eared bear into Flack's arms.

"Okay," Flack said looking at the blue bear and then sliding down to the floor next to his son, the both of them sitting cross legged opposite one another.

"Ow, my ear hurts," Flack growled in what he thought was a pretty good bear-like voice.

"No, no, Daddy!" Oscar said crossly. "Flack Bear is brave. His hear doesn't hurt him silly!"

"Oh, silly me," Flack chuckled and then tried again. "I'm big, brave, blue Flack Bear," he growled.

"Flack Bear, we have to save Barbie. She has been kidnapped by evil policeman Ken while Officer Cockles was sleeps," Oscar said as he bounced Tigger over to Flack Bear.

"Oh no...hey what?" Flack frowned. "I thought we bought policeman Ken cos he was like me?" he asked, using his normal voice again.

"No, we got Officer Cockles cos he was like you, Daddy. Policeman Ken stole Barbie's clothes to see her naughty bits, that's what Mummy says men do," Oscar stated.

"What?" Flack almost shouted as he put down the blue bear.

"Mummy sometimes forgets to wear clothes at home," Oscar shrugged as he continued to play with his toys. "She says her boyfriends steal them from her."

"Oscar how often does that happen?" Flack sighed irritably.

"Hmm," Oscar hummed as he thought about it. "Quite often."

Flack nodded his head and then stood up as the timer for dinner went off. At first he'd hoped Devon would come back immediately so that he could get rid of the little boy again and continue to live his normal, easy life. Now he hoped she never came back, and even if she did, no way would he ever let her get her hands on their son again. If only he'd known from the start... he shook his head. It was no use thinking like that. He couldn't turn back time.

"Oscar, dinner's ready!" Flack called from the kitchen as he finished up mashing the potatoes.

After the two Flack boys had eaten their dinner and Oscar had entertained Flack with the story of how he thought mashed potatoes were made by the potato monster that apparently lived under the kitchen sink but that was okay because he was friendly. They went back to the lounge and Flack put on Oscar's Winnie the Pooh DVD. As they sat there watching it Flack cuddled Oscar against his side and felt relaxed. However there was one thing that had been nagging at him all day and he didn't know quite how best to bring it up.

"Hey, Osc?" he murmured.

"Yes Daddy?" Oscar asked, eyes not leaving the screen.

"I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What Daddy?"

"I wanted you to know that what you said about Josh, that I prefer him to you...well that isn't true."

Flack waited anxiously for a reply but none was forthcoming. He sighed and glanced at the TV screen where Tigger was bouncing on Pooh. Flack suddenly was overcome with a great feeling of sympathy for the yellow bear. He grinned as an idea gradually formed in his mind.

"You see it's like I'm Kanga," he said.

"You're Kanga?... but she's a girl," Oscar giggled.

"Then I'm a girl," Flack smiled. "But I'm Kanga. And you're Roo. And Josh is Tigger. Kanga loves Tigger very much but she will always love Roo the most because he's her son."

Oscar turned to Flack and stared into his face. "I don't think you're a girl, Daddy," he said.

Flack sighed and shook his head smiling. "Never mind," he chuckled.

Oscar grinned and then sat back round and continued to watch the TV.

"I'm sorry I was mean to you, Daddy," the little boy suddenly said. "I do really like you. You're nice to me."

Flack grinned and then pulled Oscar closer and kissed the top of his head. If that was the best reply he was gonna get then it was good enough for him. He just hoped that was clear enough for the little boy to understand that he was now the most important thing in Flack's life. More than Josh, more than Danny, or any of the others at the lab, more than Sam, Henry or Grams and even more than Lovato. Flack sighed despondently... Lovato. As much as he was enjoying his evening with Oscar it wasn't the one he had planned only a few days ago, and she still hadn't called him.

"You okay, Daddy?" squeaked a little voice.

"Hmm?" Flack hummed as he came out of his thoughts to see the DVD had finished and Oscar was staring at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Flack nodded back.

"Don't be sad," Oscar stated and then gave him a hug.

Flack chuckled wondering how Oscar could tell, and hugged the little boy back. "I'm not sad, monster. Now, what shall we do next..."

"Again!" Oscar yelled excitedly and pointed to the TV.

Flack rubbed his ears in pain and sighed. "Again?" he repeated.

"Yes, again!" Oscar giggled and pinched the remote from Flack and tried to work it.

"Hey, hey," Flack quickly grabbed the remote back. "Don't break my TV!"

"Sorry, Daddy," Oscar grinned and then settled back to watch Winnie the Pooh again.

In total they ended up watching it five times before Oscar got sleepy and Flack had to carry him into his bedroom. The bed Flack had ordered in the January sales wasn't to be delivered until the day after next so in the meantime Oscar would still have to sleep in his bed. The blow up mattress was unusable and Flack had decided just to chuck it out rather than try and clean it. Flack helped Oscar change and then settled him into the bed.

"Are you sleeping too, Daddy?" Oscar asked.

"Not yet. In a little bit though."

"Where's Mister Mittens?" Oscar suddenly said, looking around the bed worriedly.

"Um, I think he was just finishing off watching the DVD. I'll go get him," Flack muttered as he plodded from the room.

"He does like Winnie the Pooh," Oscar squeaked after him.

Flack returned in a moment with the cat and gave it to Oscar who smiled happily.

"What about Tigger?" he suddenly asked.

"You want Tigger as well?" Flack asked and watched the little boy nod his head vehemently. "Okay, I'll go get him."

Flack once again plodded back to the lounge, picked up Tigger and returned with him to the bedroom and gave it to Oscar.

"Yay!" Oscar grinned and placed both under the covers next to him. Suddenly he scowled. "Daddy, what about..."

"Let me guess, Flack Bear?" Flack asked, producing the blue bear out from behind his back.

"Flack Bear," Oscar smiled as he took him and hugged him tightly.

"And what about Officer Cockles?" Flack asked as he pulled out the fat rooster from behind his back too.

"No, Daddy, he stays with you," Oscar giggled as if Flack was rather stupid.

"Oh," Flack said, staring at what he still thought was a rather offensive version of a policeman. "Well how about I leave him here for when I come to bed?" he asked.

"Hmmm, okay," Oscar hummed as he lined them all up in the bed.

"Hope there's gonna be enough room for me," Flack chuckled as he looked at the line of teddy bears in his bed.

"Well you are big," Oscar said innocently.

"Hey," Flack exclaimed. "You just wait until you're older. You're my son which means one day you'll be big just like me."

"I'll be even bigger than you!" Oscar smiled sleepily and then lay back down on the bed and Flack tucked him in.

"Night, Osc," Flack murmured and then stood and turned off the light.

Flack spent the rest of the evening calling Lindsay to thank her, sorting out all the shopping and Oscar's new clothes, calling Lovato three or four times all unsuccessfully. And finishing clearing out the spare room and shoving the boxes into a small space at the end of his hallway to be sorted at a later date. It was just past ten when Flack decided he'd go to bed. He'd been woken very early that morning by a smaller version of himself and the next day could possibly be the same. He tiptoed into the bedroom and changed into his newly bought pyjamas. They were strange to wear and Flack wondered how people could get used to them. Then he gently climbed into the bed, trying hard not to wake the sleeping boy. Flack lay down and groaned as something dug into his back, pulling out Tigger from underneath him. He chuckled as he tucked it next to Oscar and then fell asleep, the exhaustion from the day finally overcoming him.

It was around 3am when Flack stirred from his sleep and rolled over. He felt the small warm body next to him and pulled Oscar closer into him, hugging him tightly. Suddenly Flack's eyes shot open as he realised he could feel something wet soaking into his pyjamas.

"Osc?" Flack coughed as he sat up and turned on the light, fast becoming aware of the whimpering in the otherwise silent room.

"M'sorry, Daddy. It happened again," Oscar sniffled.

Flack blinked and noticed all the toys had been placed onto the floor beside Oscar's side of the bed and that the little boy was sat in the middle of a wet patch.

"Come on," Flack sighed. "It's okay. Look you saved all the teddies," he said cheerfully.

"I didn't want them to have to have a bath," Oscar sniffed as Flack picked him and up and carried him into the bathroom. "Bath's are horrible."

"Right arms up," Flack muttered as he pulled off Oscar's pyjamas. "Think it might be wash time again."

"What about you, Daddy?" Oscar asked sadly as he eyed Flack's wet pyjamas.

"Yep, I need a wash too," Flack nodded in agreement.

"I sorry I got you wet," Oscar said, bottom lip trembling as tears started to fall from his eyes.

"Hey, I'm not angry," Flack said as softly as he could. "Look Osc, do I look angry?"

"No," Oscar shrugged.

"Exactly," Flack smiled as he turned on the shower and waited for it to heat up. "You wanna maybe try the shower?" he asked.

Oscar shook his head vehemently.

"You sure, you'll get nice and clean quicker?" Flack urged.

"No Daddy, it'll swallow me!" Oscar cried, pointing at the drain.

Flack sighed as he removed his pyjamas and checked the water. "How about I show you?" he said, stepping into the shower and proving his point.

Oscar stared at him in pure horror as Flack put a foot over the drain which gave a loud gurgle and then nothing happened.

"Daddy!" squeaked Oscar worriedly.

"See, I'm fine," Flack smiled. "You gonna come in and get clean?" he asked. "It's nice and warm."

"But I'm little, Daddy, and you're big!" Oscar whined as he looked undecidedly between his father's face and the gurgling drain.

"How about if I hold on to you then?" Flack asked softly as he stepped out of the shower and bent down next to Oscar.

"You won't let go?" Oscar asked nervously.

"I promise," Flack smiled.

"Hmmm...okay..." Oscar said hesitantly and then put his arms round Flack's neck as the detective picked him up.

"See," Flack said as he stepped back into the shower cubicle. "It's not that bad."

"It's raining on us, Daddy," Oscar shouted as he looked upwards.

The drain gave a loud gurgle at that point and Oscar tensed around Flack's neck.

"I got you," Flack soothed as he took the soap in one hand and began to rub it over Oscar's back while his other hand held onto his son.

"I got you too, Daddy," Oscar replied sincerely. "Just in case."

"Then we got each other," Flack grinned at his son, proud of the little boy for overcoming his fear of the shower after just one day.

"Got each other," Oscar repeated and then looked down at the drain.

Flack didn't spend long washing them off and then dressed Oscar in clean pyjamas and let him watch Winnie the Pooh again while he got dressed and then sorted out his bed.

"What you doing?" Oscar asked as Flack came into the lounge with a bundle of blankets, two pillows and Mister Mittens.

"Well we can't sleep in the bed tonight so we'll have to have a camp out in the lounge," Flack replied.

"Camp out?" Oscar said excitedly.

"Yep. You get to sleep on the couch," Flack told the little boy as he made up a bed on it and helped Oscar into it.

"Where will you sleep, Daddy?" Oscar asked worriedly.

"I'm gonna sleep on the floor right next to you," Flack replied as he placed some blankets down on the floor beside the couch.

"But it's hard there," Oscar said, eyeing it warily.

"It's not the worst place I've slept," Flack chuckled. "I used to sleep on Messer's couch back in the day and it was about two feet too short for me."

"Who's Messy?" Oscar asked.

"He's my best mate, with the Mickey Mouse t-shirt," Flack replied as he turned off the TV and light, plunging them into darkness.

"Mickey!" Oscar shouted.

"Yep. And Lindsay who came round today is his wife," Flack replied, lying down.

"I like her," Oscar said as he snuggled up under the covers.

"She liked you too," Flack chuckled. "Hey, Osc, you know you were very brave getting in the shower tonight," he said.

"Brave like you?" squeaked Oscar.

"Yep, just like me."

"I like being like you, Daddy," Flack heard Oscar reply and then he felt a small body curl up against his side on the floor.

"Hey what you doing?" Flack asked as he put an arm round Oscar and pulled the covers over him.

"I wanna sleep with you," Oscar yawned tiredly, burying his face into Flack's side. "We got each other..." he said drifting off to sleep.

Flack smiled out into the night.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N – Just a shorty, cos that is how it came out.

I would like to say a big thank you to the reviewer Barb for her message about the school system in America/Canada. It seems it is quite different from over here so I would have had no idea without your help. Big Thanks!

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

"So when was the last time Oscar actually attended preschool or had any type of tutoring?" Mr Waffle asked politely over his desk.

Flack fiddled with his hands nervously as he tried to remember everything he had read on the documents Jo had faxed over that morning concerning Oscar's record with his previous school. It turned out Devon had been using a hoity-toity prep school to dump Oscar at for preschool so she wouldn't have to deal with him on a daily basis. He had been going there ever since he was three years old however after the incident with Tommy, Oscar had been removed from the school and according to the bank records of Devon's that they could find, no-one had been employed to take care of him since. That left about a year that was unaccounted for where Oscar seemed to have simply been left to fend for himself as far as Flack could see.

"Um, March 2013," Flack coughed awkwardly. He hated being back in a school, sat opposite a headmaster's desk. It made him feel like a naughty schoolboy himself. God knows how many times he'd been sent to see the head at his school. And the nuns...don't mention the nuns.

"Almost a year," Mr Waffle nodded and returned his gaze to the papers he held in front of him.

Flack watched anxiously and then smoothed down the tie he'd put on that morning. He'd woken to find Oscar fast asleep on his chest and after waking him, they'd had breakfast and got dressed in smart clothes ready to come down to the school. Flack half wished Lindsay had come with him now, but he couldn't ask too much of her, she was busy with baby Josh. After they arrived at the school they had been given a tour and Flack had waved at Lucy as he saw her in her classroom. The little girl had waved back and Flack had looked round for Oscar who had hidden behind his legs, a place that was fast becoming a favourite of his.

"Hmmm," Mr Waffle hummed as he flipped over a sheet and read the next page.

Flack swallowed and looked round the small office. It wasn't the tidiest of rooms or the classiest but it had that demeanour of obviously belonging to a person in a position of authority.

"Mrs Messer mentioned that Oscar has recently had to go through some important changes in his life?" Mr Waffle said, interrupting Flack's thoughts.

"Um," Flack coughed and then sat up. "Yeah. He um, he was with his Mum, but now, err, now he's with me."

"With you?" Mr Waffle asked, waiting for further explanation.

"Yes. Um, he's living with me now," Flack nodded and then hesitated. It would probably be beneficial for the school to be aware of Oscar's background so they would know what subjects to avoid with him. "I, err, I didn't know he existed until two days ago. His Mum, never told me. She kinda just left him with me and disappeared..."

"I see," Mr Waffle nodded. There was no judgement in his voice and Flack felt slightly relieved. "And is this a permanent arrangement or will Oscar be moving back with his mother at some point?"

"It's permanent," Flack stated at once and Mr Waffle arched an eyebrow in interest at him.

"And about the reason he was removed from his last school. You know we have a zero tolerance policy to violence here, Mr Flack," Mr Waffle said as he finally placed the papers down.

"Yeah, I get that," Flack nodded. "But he was being picked on and it was like a year ago. Osc has changed since then."

"I don't think you're in a position to know that, Mr Flack," Mr Waffle stated, giving Flack the impression he was getting a telling off by the headmaster.

"Okay, that's fair. But he's gotta adjust to all these changes, and to me. He's gonna change," Flack excused.

Mr Waffle narrowed his eyes at Flack, and then smiled. "Children do change," he nodded. "And Mrs Messer has given you a wonderful letter of recommendation."

"What?" Flack gawped stupidly until his brain hurriedly told him to close his mouth. "Oh yeah, right."

"I think we can probably find a place for Oscar at our school. However his test..." Mr Waffle picked up the papers again. "Was under par with our standards here. He got elementary things wrong like muddling shapes and colours."

"He probably gets that from me," Flack joked. It fell flat with Mr Waffle. "Oh, right."

"I would suggest we start him off in the preschool a year below to what he should be," Mr Waffle said.

"What? You're putting him down a year?" Flack said rather crossly. "But he hasn't even got to school level yet. How's that fair?"

"Calm yourself, Mr Flack. It is for your son's benefit. He should have started kindergarten last September and I can tell you now he wouldn't keep up with the other children at the level he's at now. If he shows drastic signs of improvement we can always move him up again," Mr Waffle explained.

Flack frowned but sat back into his chair in resignation. "Fine. Whatever you think is best. I just don't want him picked on."

"We have a zero tolerance policy to bullying as well here, Mr Flack," Mr Waffle smiled. "I'm sure Oscar will fit right in."

"I hope so," Flack sighed. "He's a good kid."

"And that," Mr Waffle smiled as he stood up. "Is probably what he gets from his father."

Flack smiled as he stood up and then shook Mr Waffle's hand.

"If you see Miss Moss, she will give you a starting pack and list of items you'll need to buy."

"Sure, thanks," Flack nodded and then went outside to see Oscar waiting patiently on a chair.

"Daddy!" the little boy squeaked excitedly as he jumped off his chair and ran over to hug Flack's left leg.

"Hey, Osc," Flack grinned and ruffled his son's hair.

"Did I do good on my test?" Oscar asked as he looked up at Flack, arms still around his leg.

"Yeah you did the best. You get to start school next week and make some friends," Flack nodded.

"Will you be there?" Oscar asked worriedly as he swapped his hold of Flack's leg to one of his hands and they started walking over to the reception desk.

"I'm a bit big for school," Flack chuckled. "But I guess you'll be in the same class as Lucy, that's Lindsay's daughter, so you'll know someone."

"I want you there," Oscar frowned.

"But I gotta go to work, Osc. Otherwise no one will be there to catch the bad guys," Flack replied.

"Hmmm," Oscar grumbled. "Okay. But I still get to live with you?"

"Course you do," chuckled Flack. "You don't live at school. You come here to play and learn and make friends."

"I like playing," Oscar grinned. "You're not very good at it though."

"I thought I was pretty good," Flack said in mock defence.

"No Daddy, you need to learn better. Maybe you should come to school with me," Oscar mused.

Flack shook his head in exasperation and then smiled at Miss Moss who handed over some documents to him.

"This is just some information about the school and our priorities and policies here. There is also a list of items you'll need to buy but most of those are only for those starting school. In the preschool most things are provided for but if your son is going to be staying the whole day we do ask you pack a lunch," she said, smiling.

"Err, yeah, it'll be the whole day," Flack nodded.

"I also just needed to check what name you would like to register Oscar under. His school records say it's Oscar Zachariah Maxford. Is that still correct?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, that's correct," Flack nodded uncomfortably, aware that the little boy was staring at him.

"I see," Miss Moss replied as she typed it into her computer. "Well that's all done then and we'll look forward to seeing Oscar next week."

"Great," Flack mumbled as he turned away and made for the exit.

They took a cab back to the apartment and it dropped them off on the corner so Flack could stock up on a few essentials before they went back home. Oscar still wouldn't go down the frozen aisle but Flack wasn't worried. He was overcoming his fear of the shower and so his fear of freezers would probably go too at some point.

"Daddy?" Oscar asked as they walked down the sidewalk to the apartment building.

"Yep?" Flack asked, one hand holding Oscar's and the other the paper bag full of groceries.

"What's your name?" Oscar asked.

"Huh? My name?" Flack frowned.

"Yes. That lady said my name. So what's your name? Flack what?" Oscar asked puzzled.

Flack grinned goofily at his son and then chuckled. "It's Donald, Osc. My name is Donald."

"Flack Donald?" Oscar asked making a face. "I don't like it!"

"No!" Flack laughed. "It's Donald Flack. Donald William Flack Junior if you want the full title."

"So Flack isn't your name?"

"It's what everyone calls me," Flack shrugged.

"I call you Daddy," Oscar giggled.

"Yes you do," Flack nodded. "But I couldn't very well have everyone calling me that. Cos I'm only your Daddy. No-one else's."

"I could call you Daddy Flack?" Oscar suggested, looking up at Flack

"That's okay, Osc. Daddy is just fine," Flack gulped as he tightened his hold on his son's hand. Daddy Flack.

"Your Mummy and Daddy got your name wrong," Oscar sighed as he traipsed along beside Flack.

"Huh, why did they get it wrong?" Flack asked.

"Well you're not Donald. You're Goofy. They should have called you Goofy Flack," Oscar explained logically.

"I can just imagine what my friends would have said at school if I'd been called Goofy Flack," Flack muttered. It didn't help that he'd been terribly goofy as a child, and really he still was if he was being truthful.

"But I still call you Daddy?" Oscar asked, in a muddle after all the names.

"Yes," Flack nodded.

"So why am I not Flack?" Oscar asked.

"What do you mean?" Flack asked.

"Well you are Flack and so is Flack Bear, but I'm not," Oscar frowned.

Flack paused for a moment as he considered this. "Well do you want to be?" he asked, feeling his heart pounding slightly. It was almost worse than he imagined proposing would be. To ask his only son if he wanted to become a proper Flack and take his name, instead of being called after Devon.

A small frown appeared on Oscar's face as the little boy thought about it.

"I want to be like you, Daddy," Oscar finally smiled.

"Well okay then. I can get that changed for you," Flack nodded, grinning happily, heart beating elatedly inside him.

"Oscar Zac Flack!" Oscar yelled excitedly as they started walking again.

Flack groaned. Zachariah. Why the hell had Devon given his son such a ridiculous and pompous middle name. That just summed her up completely.

"OOooo Daddy, look a kitty!" Oscar suddenly squealed, pointing to a tabby cat that was minding its own business, sitting happily beside a building.

"Yeah, a cat," Flack said in a slightly sneering voice.

"Kitty!" Oscar yelled and then let go of Flack's hand and began running towards the cat.

"Oscar! No!" Flack shouted after him.

Oscar ignored Flack's shouts as he approached the cat. The cat took one look at the child running towards it and then took off up the alley beside the building.

"No, Kitty!" Oscar shouted and then chased after the cat up the alley.

"Oscar!" Flack called and began pelting towards the alley, tie flapping over his shoulder, groceries being jostled in the bag in his arms.

Flack turned into the alley, heart in his throat and skidded to a halt. Oscar was bent down in the alley, the tabby cat stroking against one of legs, purring loudly. The little boy looked up in glee at Flack's arrival and carefully petted the cat.

"Look Daddy!" Oscar said excitedly.

Flack placed the groceries on top of a crate and then clung onto a wall for support, trying to get his breath back and his heart to stop beating so violently.

"Oscar, you can't run off like that!" he gasped as he stumbled over and immediately sneezed.

The cat immediately hunched over and hissed at Flack before running away through a gap in the wire fencing.

"Daddy! You scared the kitty away!" Oscar pouted sadly.

"Oscar, I don't care!" Flack said sternly before sneezing again. "You mustn't run away from me. It's dangerous!"

Oscar's bottom lip began to tremble as he stared up at the cross face of his father.

"But there was a kitty..." he said quietly.

"But it could have been dangerous. I couldn't see you when you ran down this alley and I got worried," Flack stated, trying hard not to lose his temper and just shout.

"But it wasn't, there was only the kitty cat," Oscar said as a solitary tear fell from his right eye.

"Flack knelt down and wiped it away with his thumb pad. "Don't cry, Osc. I just don't want you running off again. You need to stay close by me when we're out and hold my hand so I can look after you."

Oscar took a deep breath in and then let it out before standing and putting his arms around Flack's shoulders. "I sorry Daddy. I won't do it again. I gotta look after you too."

Flack hid a smirk and then asked, "Not even if there's a kitty?"

"Not even for a kitty," Oscar replied.

"Good," Flack smiled. He felt proud of himself that he'd managed to teach Oscar something about safety without giving into the temptation to yell and shout as he had done the day before. He found it so difficult not to become who he was at work, yelling at suspects to try and get it through to them about whatever the matter was. But Oscar was different. Oscar was his sweet little boy whom he had to protect and teach that yelling was wrong. Flack stood up and then promptly sneezed again.

Oscar eyed him warily. "Are you poorly, Daddy?"

"Nope, I'm just allergic to cats," Flack snuffled.

"Lergic to cats?" Oscar repeated, a confuse look on his face.

"Yeah, means I sneeze if I go near them and find it hard to breathe," Flack replied as he took Oscar's hand and led him back out onto the street.

"Will you die?" Oscar asked worriedly.

"No, I won't die," Flack chuckled as he picked up the groceries.

"Grannie and Grandad died," Oscar said suddenly as he took Flack's hand and walked beside him.

"Your Mum's parents?" asked Flack, sniffing.

Oscar nodded his head and his hold on Flack's hand tightened. "I liked them."

"I never got to meet them," Flack told the little boy. "But I'm sure they were nice."

"Do you have a Grannie and Grandad?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah, I got my Grams, she'd be your Great Grandma," Flack informed him.

"That's old," Oscar said in awe.

"It is. But don't tell her that," Flack smiled.

"I get to meet her?" Oscar asked excitedly.

"Yeah. And my sister Sam and brother Henry," Flack replied. "Henry's got a daughter who's nearly your age too. Ola, she's your cousin."

"Sam and Henry?" Oscar replied in thought. "Do they look like you?"

"Yeah, I guess Sam does a bit. And Henry is my twin so he looks exactly like me," Flack chuckled.

"What's a twin?" Oscar asked innocently.

Flack hummed. He really didn't want to get into how babies were made at this point, especially not how some arrived on their own, some were twins and some even more.

"It just means we look very similar," Flack mumbled.

"Oh," Oscar sighed as they reached the apartment building.

"Right, come on, let's get inside," Flack said, holding the door open for Oscar.

"Up up up," Oscar sung as he started climbing the stairs.

"Yep. Up up," Flack joined in.

"Up up up up up..." Oscar kept on going with every step. "Come on Daddy, you say it too!" he ordered.

"Up...up...up..." Flack began mumbling, smiling at the little boy ahead of him.

"What we gonna do when we get home?" Oscar asked as he jumped the last step onto the landing.

"I dunno. We can have lunch and then Jo is gonna come round. You remember her; she spoke to you in the precinct?" Flack replied as they made their way down the hallway to his apartment.

"Yep. She was nice," Oscar nodded. Suddenly he frowned.

"What's wrong, Osc?" Flack asked as he fumbled in his pocket for his key.

"I told Jo I didn't like you" Oscar said sadly, looking ashamed.

"Oh," Flack frowned as he slotted his key into the lock and opened the door.

"I didn't mean it though. Will she be cross with me?" Oscar asked as he trundled into the apartment after Flack.

"Nah she'll have forgotten all about that," Flack chuckled.

"Sure?" Oscar asked, pouting in worry.

"Sure," Flack nodded. "Now let's get the lunch on and then we can..."

"Watch Winnie!" Oscar interrupted, shouting excitedly.

Flack groaned.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"A ship on the horizon!" called Ken from his lookout point at the bow of the ship.

"Oh no, pirates!" shouted Barbie worriedly as she clung onto the mast for support as the ship lurched to the side.

"Don't you be worrying there, I'll see to those dastardly pirates," Flack Bear growled bravely.

"You show em what you're made of, buddy bear... fluff!" Tigger laughed as he swept down the rigging, and landed heavily on the deck.

The ship wobbled violently in the water.

"Steady the ship, batmobile car," called Captain Mister Mittens as he bounded out onto the deck and the ship once more lurched to the side.

"Those pirates won't get the better of us. No harrbump can sneak up on a Tigger and get away with it!" Tigger added as he drew his sword ready.

"Why this sea is mighty rough today," Barbie said worriedly as Ken rushed over and held her close.

"Don't worry Barbie, I've got you," he said reassuringly.

"Brm brm," Batmobile zoomed up the long boardwalk toward the group congregating in the middle of the ship.

"Batmobile, if you're here, who is steering the ship?" Captain Mister Mittens asked worriedly.

"Brm brm," replied Batmobile unhelpfully.

"I'll do it," Tigger said as he bounced excitedly up and down on the spot.

The ship let out a loud 'oof' and lurched again to the side, all the toys falling off onto the carpet.

"Daddy!" exclaimed Oscar crossly. "You're supposed to stay still! You're a bad ship!"

It was one o'clock in the afternoon and Flack found himself lying on his back on the carpet as Oscar used his body as a ship for his toys in a marvellous adventure game about pirates.

"You bounced on my stomach," Flack muttered still trying to get his breath back as he held onto it with both hands.

"No I didn't, Daddy. Tigger did," Oscar said defensively.

"Well tell Tigger not to do it again," Flack grumbled as he tried to sit up but was immediately jumped on by Oscar.

"Tigger says he's sorry," Oscar said as he picked the toy off the floor and shoved it into Flack's face.

"He's a bit close, Osc," Flack murmured as he tried to move the Tigger out of his face.

"He's kissing you better," Oscar stated as though it were obvious.

"Oh right," Flack replied as Oscar made a kissing sound and pushed Tigger into his face again. "I think that's enough though."

"Okay," Oscar smiled as he cuddled Tigger to him, still sat astride Flack on the carpet.

Just then the doorbell rang and once again Flack tried to sit up.

"Gotta get that, buddy," he said as he lifted the little boy onto the couch and stood up.

"Okay, but we finish the game later?" Oscar asked worriedly, his blue eyes staring solemnly at Flack.

Flack sighed in defeat, starting to find those eyes irresistible to say no to. "Sure."

He went over to the door and grinned as he opened it.

"Well Don Flack, you sure took your time," Jo replied as she kissed him on the cheek and went inside.

"Don," Sid smiled as he followed on in behind Jo, both of them carrying bags.

"Hey guys," Flack grinned as he shut the door and then led them over to the couch.

"Where's that gorgeous little boy of your then?" Jo asked as she sat down and took off her coat.

Flack looked around and noticed Oscar seemed to have completely disappeared.

"Um, he's still kinda shy with strangers," he excused, scratching his head.

"I was a terribly shy boy," Sid sympathised as he too took off his coat. "I rather enjoyed the solitude of being an only child and learning to fend for oneself. But then again, as an only child I always received more of the attention so that in itself was a curse."

"Err...right," Flack frowned, not really sure if he understood the older man.

"Don, would it be okay to use your kitchen?" Sid asked as he placed his coat on the back of a chair and then picked up his bags. "Jo and I did a little shopping en-route."

"Oh...um...sure," Flack shrugged, slightly overwhelmed by having both Jo and Sid in his apartment, the mess on the floor, the disappearance of his son and now Sid wanting to use the kitchen.

"I thought I'd make some food for you," Sid smiled. "I did used to be a chef you know."

"Help yourself," Flack muttered as he sat down in a chair.

"I brought some things round I thought you might find helpful," Jo smiled as she placed a bag into Flack's hands.

Flack looked inside and then frowned. "Jo, this stuff is new; you didn't have to do that," he exclaimed.

"Don Flack, I know you're not made of money, and children are expensive. I should know. Plus now that my little boy has grown up I miss having one to treat and children's clothes are just so darn cute. Even Ellie is too grown up for me to shop for now," Jo said a little sadly.

Flack sighed in defeat. "Thanks, Jo," he said sincerely.

"Well that's alright, hun. And I brought round all of Ellie's old toys she never uses now that she's little miss grown up," Jo added.

"Osc, Jo is here. She brought you some toys," Flack shouted down the hallway.

Nothing happened.

"I'll go find him," Flack sighed. "He's worried you'll tell him off cos he told you he hated me," he told Jo.

"Poor boy," Jo said a little sadly. "To think what he must have been through."

Flack pursed his lips and nodded in agreement as once more thoughts of Devon came to his mind. He turned and went to his bedroom where he knew Oscar would most likely be. He was right. Oscar was sat on the edge of the bed and flinched when Flack entered the room.

"Hey, Buddy. What's up?" Flack asked as he knelt before his son.

"Is she cross with me?" Oscar asked worriedly as he fiddled with his hands.

"No, of course not," Flack smiled. "She's looking forward to seeing you again. She brought toys with her."

"Um...for keeps?" Oscar asked quietly.

"Yep, for keeps," Flack replied.

Oscar gingerly reached out and placed a small hand on his father's shoulder and began playing with the sweater he was wearing, stroking his fingers up and down and pulling at the material nervously. He prodded Flack's shoulder with them and Flack could tell he had something on his mind.

"What's wrong, Osc?" Flack asked.

"Who else is here?" Oscar asked after a moment.

"My friend Sid. He also works with me," Flack replied.

"And you want me to meet both of them?" Oscar asked slowly, his eyes never leaving Flack's shoulder where he continued to play with his sweater.

"Sure I do," Flack smiled, trying to be as reassuring as possible despite being concerned as to why the little boy had hidden himself away.

"But there is more than one person," Oscar replied after a big sigh.

"Yes, there are two. Jo and Sid. They'd both love to meet you," Flack said and then he gently reached out and took hold of Oscar's hands, bringing them down between them.

Oscar finally looked up at Flack and his eyes told a million stories. Problem was, Flack had never really been good with books.

"You gonna tell me what's wrong?" Flack asked.

"Hmmm..." Oscar hummed and fidgeted awkwardly.

"Hmm?" Flack replied questioningly.

"Mummy never liked me to meet her friends," Oscar finally sighed as he looked down at his hands where Flack held them.

"Why not?" Flack asked quietly.

"She said she didn't want her friends to know I was there. That they wouldn't like me," Oscar shrugged.

Flack nodded slowly to himself as he processed this latest information about what a terrible mother Devon was.

"But you met Lindsay, and she liked you..." Flack said reassuringly.

"She was one though. Not two," Oscar said nervously.

"Well I want you to meet all of my friends," Flack said softly.

"Why?" Oscar asked as he looked up and Flack found himself confronted with two large blue eyes.

"Because you're my son," Flack said simply. "And I'm proud of you."

Oscar pouted his bottom lip out as he thought for a moment. "Will I always be your son?" he asked uncertainly.

"Of course," Flack said as he struggled to comprehend the logic of Oscar's latest question. "Things like that never change."

"Well, I'm not Mummy's son anymore, am I?" Oscar asked as he looked up at his father again.

Flack opened his mouth and then closed it again. He had no idea how to answer that question. How was he supposed to explain to a five-year old that his Mum no longer wanted him.

"Osc, you'll always be your Mum's son. She's just gone away for a bit, that's all. But I promise you, you will always be my son and I will never ever go away anywhere, or my names not Donald Flack... which it is," Flack said, smiling in an effort to reassure his son.

"That's what Winnie says," Oscar murmured and Flack could see a small smile on his lips.

"It is, isn't it," Flack grinned as he lifted the boy up and held him at his waist while Oscar put his arms around his neck.

"I like you, Daddy," Oscar said as Flack carried him out of the bedroom. "I'll try and not be scared for you."

"You just be yourself," Flack replied as he carried Oscar into the lounge.

Sid was busy in the kitchen area of the room making what looked suspiciously like a rather large mess. And Jo had helped herself to a drink and was reading one of Flack's journals on motorcycles.

"Hey," Flack grinned as he came into the room and sat down on the chair, Oscar still held in his arms.

"Oh my, is this that little cutie I met only a couple of days ago?" Jo smiled.

Oscar buried his face into Flack's shoulder at her words.

"And there was I thinking we'd made such good friends," Jo said as she gave Flack a wink.

Oscar slowly turned his head so his eyes were looking at Jo.

"There he is," she laughed and held out a hand. "Why don't you come over here and see what I brought you?"

Oscar hesitated for a moment and then turned himself around on Flack's lap.

"Are we really friends?" he asked as he slid off Flack's knees.

"Why, of course we are," Jo said as she sat down cross-legged on the floor and started taking out things from her bags.

"Are they for me?" Oscar asked warily as he sat down opposite her.

"Of course they are," Jo laughed. "Now why don't you come and give your Auntie Jo a big ol' hug?" she asked, arms spread out wide.

Oscar looked back at Flack for a moment who nodded reassuringly at him and then he climbed into Jo's lap as she gave him a hug.

"Well don't you just give better hugs than your Daddy does," Jo laughed at Oscar.

"Hey!" Flack exclaimed, though he was the first to admit he wasn't really the cuddling type.

"I'm better than Daddy?" Oscar asked in astonishment.

"Course you are," Jo said. "And cuter to," she whispered in his ear, looking at Flack.

Oscar covered his mouth with his hands as he giggled while Flack looked decidedly grumpy.

"Why who is this stout young man?" Sid asked as he came over wiping his hands on an apron Flack had once been given for Christmas by Adam with a huge naked lady's body on it. It was highly inappropriate to be wearing in front of Oscar. It even had tassels on the nipples.

"Errr Sid..." Flack started to say but was interrupted by the younger Flack.

"I'm Oscar," Oscar said as he smiled politely at Sid. "Daddy said he wanted me to meet his friends."

"He did, did he?" Sid asked looking up at Flack and smiling.

"Well I'm Sid, I work with your Daddy," Sid replied.

"You're a policeman?" Oscar asked. "But you're very old."

Flack made a face of embarrassment at Oscar's comment while Jo laughed loudly and Sid simply smiled sweetly.

"Oh no, I'm not a policeman. I'm a doctor," Sid replied.

"Why does Daddy work with a doctor?" Oscar asked in confusion.

"Because when he discovers a body, it's my job to cut them up and see why they died," Sid replied earnestly before looking up and discovering a look of horror on Flack's face while Jo was still grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Oh God," Flack whispered, waiting for the reaction.

Oscar frowned for a moment and then grinned too. "I want to be an animal doctor!" he said excitedly.

"Well that's very interesting," Sid replied.

"What are you doing?" Oscar asked as he looked at Sid's dirty apron and frowned. There were food stains all over it. "Are you cutting up bodies now? I don't think Daddy will like that very much."

Jo hooted with laughter at Flack's face while Sid grinned widely. "No. I'm making a cake, would you like to help?"

"Can I, Daddy?" Oscar asked as he turned back to his father who looked almost faint with the confusion of the situation.

"Ummm..." Flack muttered, a little unsure whether he should let his son spend a prolonged amount of time alone with Sid.

"Please Daddy," Oscar pouted, his eyes solemn and large, bottom lip sticking out.

"Oh, go on Don," Jo urged and then turned to Oscar. "Of course you can help Sid in the kitchen."

"Yay!" Oscar shouted and then went into the kitchen area with Sid.

"Well, well, well...Donald Flack..." Jo said as she turned to look at him.

"What?" Flack asked dumbly.

"He's definitely your son. He's got that infamous Flack pout down to a tee," she replied.

"Flack pout? What Flack pout?" Flack asked indignantly.

"Don't you play the innocent with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about," Jo smiled as she sat down again.

"Hmph," Flack grumped at her .

"So, how's it all going?" Jo asked as they both watched the old coroner and the little boy giggling together in the kitchen.

"I really don't know," Flack said. "It's so hard. He keeps on getting upset, or wondering about his Mum...I have no answers...what am I supposed to say?"

"I understand," Jo said sympathetically. "It was hard when I first adopted Ellie. Her getting used to a new environment and a new parent."

"Yeah but you chose that, Jo. You chose to have Ellie. I didn't choose this," Flack hissed exhaustedly.

"Don Flack!" Jo exclaimed. "Are you really telling me you don't want that gorgeous little boy over there?"

The two of them looked over to where Oscar was blowing flour at Sid as they baked and making the older man cough and splutter. Oscar giggled in glee at the floury dust cloud and clapped his hands in it, trying to catch the fine powder.

"No, of course not," Flack sighed in defeat. "I love him, Jo. I really do. It's just hard...I feel so lost all the time. I'm worried I won't be any good for him."

"All parents think that, Don. It's normal," Jo said reassuringly. "But he's such a lovely little boy already, despite whatever treatment he's suffered at the hands of his mother. Surely that must tell you something?"

"It worries me," Flack replied. "I can't believe she was such a terrible parent, like she didn't want him or something. I don't get why she didn't just tell me in the first place!"

"She probably thought she could cope on her own. That she didn't want you involved. Did you have a bad break up?" Jo asked.

"I split with her because I had feelings for someone else," Flack murmured, a beautiful face with long dark hair and deep brown eyes coming to mind.

"I see...and she knew this?" Jo said.

"Yeah...yeah she did," Flack muttered.

"Well then, that'll be why. She was punishing you, Don," Jo surmised.

"Yeah, but all she succeeded in doing was punishing Oscar," Flack growled, feeling upset and angry at his ex-girlfriend.

Oscar turned his head at his name and looked over at his father.

"Daddy, you upset?" he asked as Sid looked over too.

"No, I'm fine, Osc," Flack smiled as he stood and walked over to the kitchen. "What you doing there?"

Oscar eyed his father suspiciously over the countertop at which he was sat.

"I don't believe you," he suddenly said and slid off his stool, coming round to stand beside Flack and then put his arms around his legs, hugging him.

Flack stared down at his little boy before turning to look at first Sid and then Jo, both of whom were watching, their hearts melting a little.

"Hey, I'm fine," Flack murmured as he picked up Oscar and gave him a hug.

"You mustn't be sad," Oscar told him wisely as he put his arms around Flack's neck.

"Though you may want to buy yourself a washing machine," Sid stated randomly from behind him.

Flack turned in confusion to look at Sid.

"Hands," Sid nodded at Oscar as he stuck up his own.

Flack noticed that Sid's hands were covered in flour and cocoa powder as Oscar's probably were too. He groaned silently as he thought of the little handprints that no doubt now covered his jeans and navy sweater he was wearing.

"Have you been making a mess?" Flack asked his son.

"Not as bad as you do, Daddy," Oscar grinned as he pulled away from Flack and slid down his legs to the floor.

Jo snickered at the white handprints that now covered Flack's back.

"Look what I made, Daddy," Oscar squealed in delight as he pointed at the oven where a cake was steadily rising as it baked.

"Wow Osc, that looks really good," Flack smiled as he knelt down by the oven and looked in. "Did Sid teach you about making cakes?"

"Yes," Oscar smiled. "He said it was like a topsy. You make sure all the bits are right and it comes out good."

"A topsy?" Flack frowned as he stood and looked questioningly at Sid. He felt a small floury hand enclose around his own.

"Autopsy," Jo said as she came over to the three boys. "Oh my, that looks like it'll be a wonderful cake," she smiled.

"Sid you gotta stop telling my five-year old about autopsies and such," Flack said exasperatedly.

"He asked me," Sid defended. "He wanted to know what I did as a doctor."

"Heal people, Sid," Flack sighed. "Just say heal people!"

"How long until the cake is done?" Jo interrupted them.

"Fifteen minutes," Sid replied.

"Then we can ice it," Oscar replied looking up at all the adults.

"Sure can, Sonny," Sid replied smiling happily.

"Daddy, mmm..." Oscar whined as he let go of his father's hand and gestured he wanted to be picked up again.

"Come on then," Flack sighed, making a mental note to indeed look into buying a washing machine; his sweater was now covered in floury handprints.

"Well that cake will sure go nicely with the tea set I brought over for you," Jo smiled at Oscar.

"You brought a tea set for my son?" Flack sighed. First a Barbie...now this.

"It was Ellie's old plastic set. What's a fifteen year old going to do with one?" Jo exclaimed.

"Make tea?" Flack said sarcastically.

"I also brought along all her kids DVDs she no longer wanted," Jo said.

"Winnie?" Oscar asked quietly.

"She had the whole collection of movies," Jo nodded as Oscar squealed in delight.

"Daddy! Winnie! Tigger!" he shouted.

"Oh God," Flack muttered quietly and pouted grumpily.

"Ahh, the infamous Flack pout," Sid observed.

Flack just pouted even more.

* * *

A/N - No copyright infringement meant on Winnie the Pooh.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Flack stared miserably at the pile of cardboard boxes and tins of paint that were stacked rather haphazardly in his lounge. The delivery men from the department store had arrived that morning unfathomably early and he had been exceeding grouchy when he had answered the door to them. They had been less than courteous themselves, probably due to the lack of an elevator in his building and had almost chucked the items he'd ordered at him before departing swiftly. Now Flack was faced with building numerous items of flat-pack furniture as well as the mountainous task of painting Oscar's bedroom. The little kid had kept him up half the night again with his bed wetting and Flack thanked himself for having bought a plastic undersheet specifically designed for that sort of problem that he could now use on Oscar's bed... once he had put it up.

"Daddy, why you staring at them boxes?" Oscar asked from somewhere beside his left knee.

"Just thinking about them," Flack replied casually.

"Why you thinking bout boxes, Daddy? They not very fun," Oscar remarked thoughtfully and Flack felt something push into his hand.

"Why are you giving me Mister Mittens?" Flack asked as he looked down at his son.

Oscar shrugged and then grinned at him. "Can we have ice cream for tea?"

"Err I think we need to eat more healthily than that, Osc," Flack murmured.

"Like carrots?" asked the little boy.

"Err yeah, sure. Why carrots?" Flack asked.

"Cos they orange like Tigger and Mister Mittens," Oscar giggled.

Flack nodded seeing the logic and then stared down at the lanky cat he was holding. God he hated cats.

"When I grow up I want to be a bird!" Oscar giggled and started running round the room, flapping his arms.

"Huh?" Flack muttered to himself, confused by the randomness of being a child. Just then the doorbell went. It was only ten o'clock and Flack couldn't imagine who it could be.

"Ho ho, cavalries arrived," Messer grinned as Flack pulled open the door.

"Danno, what you doing here?" Flack asked in surprise, quickly dropping the toy in his hands onto the floor behind the door. He wanted to keep up some kind of manliness about him.

"Did the night shift with Adam," Danny replied as the newly qualified CSI and Hawkes appeared behind him.

"Guys, what the?" Flack mumbled as he let them in.

"I had the day off," Hawkes explained. "And we thought we'd all take a trip down here to see how you're getting on?"

"Oh, you shouldn't have," Flack muttered as he closed the door.

"We don't mind," Adam said quietly.

"No, I mean you really shouldn't have," Flack replied, unwilling for his three best friends to see what a terrible job of fatherhood he was doing.

"Well, Linds mentioned you might be needing a few extra pairs of hands today," Danny grinned. "So we thought we'd bring you a few. Now come on, where is the little fella?"

Flack sighed and looked about. Once again, like normal, Oscar seemed to have disappeared from the room.

"He's a little shy," Flack shrugged.

"So Jo told us," Hawkes nodded.

"Well go get him Flack, I wanna meet little Flack Jr.," Danny chuckled.

"That would actually be me," Flack frowned.

"So how's it all going?" Hawkes asked.

"I think I've watched more Winnie the Pooh than Winnie the Pooh," Flack mumbled.

"Join the club, buddy," Danny chuckled and then he caught sight of the fat stuffed Officer Cockles that was sat on the couch. "Oh my God, you have an Officer Cockles," he laughed.

"A what?" Hawkes mouthed at Adam who shrugged.

"Osc wanted me to have it," Flack said casually. "It was a present. Even though I bought it."

"It's you!" Danny sniggered. "I thought Quackpot was bad, but him hahaha!"

"Alright, I get the idea," Flack said grumpily. "It's not like I actually look like him. I'm hardly fat and doughnut-eating!"

"Oh I dunno, Flack," Danny said provokingly. "You got that cop waddle down to a tee."

"Don't be mean to my Daddy," an angry little voice suddenly squeaked and out of nowhere appeared the curly-haired little boy.

There was an audible gasp of shock and surprise from the three men.

"Oh, err, sorry little guy," Danny grinned pleasantly.

Oscar came forward from the corridor leading to the bedrooms and stood protectively in front of Flack, glaring at Danny.

"Say sorry," Oscar stated firmly, his eyes never leaving the spiky-haired CSI's face.

"What?" Danny exclaimed looking between the cross looking younger Flack and the amused looking older Flack.

"I said say sorry!" Oscar said again, arms folded across his chest.

"Yeah, go on Mess... say sorry!" Flack grinned from behind Oscar.

"I was just joking, kiddo," Danny smiled at the small boy. Behind him, Hawkes and Adam had started sniggering.

"You were mean to my Daddy. Say sorry for being mean!" Oscar stated.

Danny huffed and then looked up at Flack who was grinning widely, finding the whole thing hilarious.

"Sorry Flack," Danny mumbled half-heartedly.

"For being mean," Oscar added.

"For being mean," Danny repeated.

"That's okay, Mess. I forgive you," Flack chuckled.

"Messy?" Oscar suddenly said, frown gone. "You met Mickey?"

"Huh?" Danny said gormlessly.

"Mouse," Flack mouthed to Danny from behind Oscar.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah I did," Danny smiled at the small boy.

"I love Mickey, did you meet Pooh too? And Tigger?" Oscar grinned excitedly and grabbed Danny's hand, leading him over to the couch.

Adam, Hawkes and Flack watched him in amusement.

"Wow Flack, you got a right little clone of yourself there," Hawkes murmured.

"That's what everyone keeps on saying," Flack muttered. "I'll get some coffee on."

He went over to the kitchen and Hawkes and Adam followed him.

"I just can't believe you're a dad," Adam said as he sat down on a stool at the counter.

"I know," Flack replied as he started making the coffee. "I never thought I'd have a kid. Maybe. I dunno, I guess after Jess died it wasn't exactly top of my priorities list anymore."

"You'll have to start being all grown up and sophisticated now," Hawkes smiled.

"What, like Mess is?" Flack chuckled and the other two laughed as they all turned to look at Oscar poking his fingers into Danny's spiky hair and giggling when it pronged back up after he tried to flatten it.

"Daddy, Messy met Tigger!" Oscar shouted over the back of the couch to his dad as he saw him looking. "He said he was big and he could bounce real high!"

"Course he could, he's Tigger," Flack replied, smiling back at his excited little boy.

Adam and Hawkes exchanged a look at Flack's easy reply to his son.

"So Mac wanted us to check with you if you're planning on bringing Oscar to his wedding next month," Hawkes said as he sat down next to Adam.

"Oh God I completely forgot about that," Flack sighed. "What's Danny doing?"

"He said Lucy and Joshua would both be going but that Lindsay might leave a bit earlier if Josh gets tired or stroppy," Adam replied.

"Is there even space for Osc? I mean, Christine's already done the seating plan and the food and..." Flack started to waffle.

"Flack," Adam grinned. "She said she would love it if Oscar could come. I think she's hoping it might influence Mac..."

"Urgh," Flack moaned. "Not something I wanna know Adam. Fine. Yeah, I guess..."

"So I'll tell him yes?" Hawkes asked.

"Well I don't have the first clue about babysitters, he's not even met my family yet so I guess he'll come. Maybe he can just hang out with Lucy or something," Flack nodded.

"I'll tell Mac tomorrow then. I'm sure it'll be no problem just to squeeze a child onto your table, and I'm betting he doesn't eat much anyway," Hawkes smiled.

"I dunno," Flack said, making a face as he poured out some mugs of coffee.

"Should have guessed he might eat like a garbage can if he takes after you," Adam snickered.

"Hey," Flack said good humouredly.

"Daddy, when can we go meet Tigger?" Oscar asked as he came into the kitchen and stared up at his father.

"Oh um, not quite yet, Osc," Flack mumbled awkwardly.

"Oh," sighed the little boy disappointedly.

"Maybe soon, okay?" Flack said hopefully, not wanting to upset his son in front of his friends.

"Yay," Oscar smiled as Danny came to join them.

"Who are you?" Oscar asked Adam who looked nervous at the question.

"Oh, um. I err... well...I'm Adam," he replied, sweating slightly at the brow.

"I'm Oscar. Or you can call me Flack," Oscar smiled in response.

"Oh err, what?" Adam frowned. "You...but your Dad...I..."

"I'm gonna be Flack too. So you can call me Flack," Oscar said proudly as he took hold of his father's hand and smiled up at him.

"He wants to change his surname from Maxford to Flack," Flack replied as he handed out the coffees one-handedly.

"Wow," Danny gawped as he stared between the two Flacks.

"Yeah that's big," Hawkes replied as he took his coffee.

"It is?" Flack asked.

"Yeah," Danny nodded. He bent down and smiled at Oscar. "Hey, buddy. You wanna be just like your Daddy right?"

"Yes," Oscar grinned. "Gonna be like Daddy and be Flack. And be brave and big and strong. My Daddy is bestest."

"Hmmm," Danny said as he straightened up. "Not sure about that."

Flack chuckled and elbowed Danny in the side.

"So come on Flack, what's your big secret, how'd you convince him to like you so much?" Hawkes smiled in jest.

"Guess I'm just super likeable," Flack retorted.

"I like Daddy," Oscar shouted at them.

"Osc, this is Hawkes, I work with him too," Flack replied as he picked up Oscar so he could be level with them all. From where he'd been standing the little boy hadn't been able to see Hawkes over the countertop.

Oscar stared for a moment at Hawkes, a frown on his face and then he buried it into his father's shoulder.

"Oh um..." Flack stared blankly at Hawkes.

Danny and Adam both looked back at him too, none of them quite understanding what was wrong.

"What's wrong Osc?" Flack asked as he nuzzled his face into his boy's hair.

"Daddy, he looks different," Oscar whispered back, looking at Hawkes from the very corner of his eye.

Flack blushed a deep red as he realised what Oscar meant and then stared back at Hawkes in apology. Hawkes just smiled good naturedly about the situation, clearly not offended.

"That's because I'm an African-American," he explained to the little boy who was still watching him cautiously.

"What's that?" Oscar asked, directing the question to his father.

"It means my ancestors, like my grandma and grandpa and those even older than them came from a different country to yours," Hawkes explained as best he could to a small child.

"Do I come from abroad?" Oscar frowned up at his father.

"Well yeah, kind of," Flack replied. "Like you were born in New York and so was I... and my parents. But my great grandparents were born in Ireland and Italy, those are places abroad."

"I don't understand," Oscar huffed as he turned and looked at Hawkes again.

"Basically, I come from a different country to you," Hawkes said, deciding to skip out the ancestor bit that was clearly confusing the little boy. "Even though I'm an American too."

"Does that mean you know more stuff?" Oscar asked thoughtfully.

"Of course. I'm much cleverer than these goons," Hawkes grinned.

"Hey," all three men exclaimed.

"Cept Daddy. He's cleverest of all," Oscar said as he cuddled against Flack's chest.

"That he is," Hawkes nodded, realising that Flack would always be Oscar's hero.

"I like you," Oscar said as he looked at Hawkes.

"Thank you. I like you too," Hawkes replied happily.

"So Flack, what do you want to get started on first?" Danny asked, changing the topic as he surveyed the pile of boxes by the couch.

"I guess if me and you start with the painting, Adam and Hawkes can sort out the furniture in here, build all the small stuff," Flack replied.

"Excellent. I do like a good puzzle," Hawkes replied, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Figures," Adam said, nudging his friend jovially.

"Hey Mess, hope you got your painting pants on," Flack smiled at his friend.

"Sure have Donny boy," Danny replied. "So we gonna get this started or what?"

"Sure, you grab the paint," Flack stated as he put Oscar back down. "Now Osc, you gonna be a good boy and play with your toys while we start doing some work?"

"Okay Daddy," Oscar replied as he ran over to the door and picked up Mister Mittens. "How did you get on the floor, Mister Mittens?" he asked his soft toy.

Flack chuckled as he went on down to his spare room and stared at the four beige walls that he was about to erase.

"You okay?" Danny asked as he came lumbering in behind him with the paint.

"Yeah. I just never thought I'd be decorating this room like this," Flack murmured quietly.

"Don't you like duckies and kitties, Daddy?" squeaked Oscar.

"Oh," Flack said, blinking in surprise. He hadn't realised his son had followed him into the room. "Course I do, Osc."

"So what colours are we doing this?" Danny asked as he opened up the paint.

"Ello!" Oscar shouted, jumping up and down.

"Yellow," Flack replied. "And one wall blue so the ducks have somewhere to swim."

"Right, of course," Danny laughed, nodding understandingly. "You gonna help us Oscar?"

"Yay," Oscar said, clapping his hands.

Soon the two men and the little boy were covering the walls in their shades of paint, Danny working on the blue wall while the two Flacks worked on the yellow ones.

"Daddy, you dripping it on me," Oscar said crossly as Flack painted above the spot where the little boy was painting.

"Oh, sorry Osc," Flack chuckled.

"No fair, I messy now," Oscar frowned.

"And I'm Messy too," Danny laughed. "Now that that's apparently my new name."

Flack turned and frowned crossly at Danny for his terrible sense of humour.

"I think your Daddy needs to be messy too, don't you?" Danny suggested slyly as he flicked a dollop of paint at Flack.

It splattered onto the tall detective's cheek and slowly slid down his face.

"Hey!" growled Flack, staring at Danny crossly. He was about to whip the paintbrush out of the older man's hand when another dollop of paint landed on his face. "What the...?"

He turned and saw Oscar giggling quietly to himself, paintbrush somewhat hidden behind his back.

"Oscar Flack, did you just chuck paint at me?" Flack exclaimed at his son.

"No Daddy, you just got messy, that's all," Oscar smiled as he watched Danny fling more paint at Flack's back.

"Hey!" Flack said as he turned back to Danny.

Oscar took the opportunity to spray Flack's legs with yellow paint.

"Why am I being picked on here?!" Flack moaned defensively.

"Easy target," Danny grinned.

"Daddy likes making a mess," Oscar stated thoughtfully.

"Trust you two to become partners in troublemaking," Flack sighed. "Osc, make sure you never listen to a word this man tells you," he told at his son.

"Unless it's about having fun!" Danny laughed. "Because I'm great at that!" he added as he sprayed a load of paint in Flack's face.

"Right!" Flack growled. "That's it!" And he flicked his paintbrush in Danny's direction causing the man to be showered in yellow flecks.

Soon all three of them were involved in a paint fight, covered from head to toe in splashes of yellow and blue and looking rather more painted than any of the walls were. Oscar squealed in delight as he dodged out from behind his father's legs to throw paint at them and then hid again. Unfortunately for Flack, his height meant that he suffered the most from the paint attack.

"Ahem."

Danny, Flack and Oscar froze in the middle of their actions to slowly turn and stare at the door.

"We wondered what all the commotion was about," Hawkes said as he looked over them.

"Where's Adam?" Flack asked.

"Playing xbox," Hawkes replied. "He was just getting in the way anyway. Turns out the whizz kid at computers is not so much with the DIY skills."

"Yeah, neither is Messer here," Flack grinned.

"Hey!" Danny moaned and flicked more paint at Flack.

"You three are a right mess," Hawkes commented.

"We was being messy," Oscar giggled.

"We sure were," Flack grinned as he chucked his paintbrush into the tin and then picked up his son. "But we should probably get cleaned up now."

"You're all blue and yellow," Oscar stated as he poked his finger at the splodges of paint on Flack's face.

"So are you," Flack smiled.

"Do we gotta wash now?" Oscar humphed.

"Yeah buddy, we gotta wash," Flack nodded.

"I don't like washing," Oscar grumbled causing Danny and Hawkes to laugh.

"Washing is important," Hawkes commented. "Otherwise nasty bacteria and viruses..."

"Hawkes!" Flack said quickly.

"Oh, sorry," Hawkes smiled. "I'm a doctor."

"Like Sid!" Oscar smiled, wiping at the paint on his hands.

"Yes, exactly like Sid," Hawkes nodded.

"I'm gonna be an animal doctor and fix all the duckies and kitties," Oscar replied as he wiped the paint on his hands off in Flack's hair.

"That's a very important job to do," Hawkes nodded.

"But if you're gonna fix the duckies you have to like water, Osc," Flack added. "Which means..."

"We gotta go wash," Oscar sighed. "Okay. But you come too?" he asked his dad.

"Course I am. But we gotta be quick so that Mess can get cleaned up as well," Flack told the little boy.

"But Messy likes to be messy," Oscar said as he looked round at Danny.

"This is gonna stick isn't it?" Danny sighed as he moved aside to let Flack and Oscar out of the room.

"Sure is," sniggered Hawkes.

"He's a real sweet kid," Danny murmured. "He was so excited I'd been to Disneyworld."

"Yeah. It's strange he'd never seen a person of my race before though. I mean, this is New York City," Hawkes mused.

"Do you remember Devon?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, just about," Hawkes replied.

"I met her once. Flack introduced me to her. She was so conceited and self obsessed. I think he was only attracted to her for her looks...and tits. That's why the relationship was so short lived. And she just liked the idea of being with a cop, the working-class boy thing gave her a bit of excitement in her otherwise dull life," Danny explained.

"So?" Hawkes frowned.

"So she was a snoot. Probably never mixed with people like you. And from what I've heard, Oscar wasn't exactly allowed out of his room much," Danny sighed.

"Poor kid," Hawkes mused.

"Yeah, but Flack's doing a good job though, isn't he?" Danny mused as he watched the Flack boys go across the hall from the bedroom to the bathroom.

"He's doing a great job. It's actually surprised me," Hawkes agreed.

"Yeah. I've been kinda worried about him. Linds said he was finding it hard," Danny told his friend.

"Seems a natural to me," Hawkes shrugged. "But then I don't know much about children. You're our resident expert there."

"Me?" Danny squeaked. "Linds is the expert."

"Not on fatherhood," Hawkes retorted.

"Well I'm certainly no expert on that either. But from what I do know, Flack has the makings of a great father," Danny said proudly.


End file.
